Multiple Streams of Income
The rich know that there is only so much time in a day and so much contribution you can make with your physical or mental efforts. At the end of the day, we all must rest and strive for balance in our lives. Our capacity to earn money with our time or expertise is limited by the hours we can work. We can put in obscenely long hours to earn more money, but that is not sustainable for most people. We will eventually burn out. Trading your time for money has very real limits.
In order to earn large sums of money, you must leverage time. You must set in motion several money making mechanisms that, once initiated, will continue to earn money for you without the need for you to be present. It is fine to check in on these vehicles from time to time to make adjustments, but for all intents and purposes the mechanism is self sufficient.
If you set up enough of these self-driving streams of income, you could eventually become rich. You will earn money while you sleep. Your multiple streams of income will work in parallel with each other. It is like cloning yourself over and over again. Your are living multiple lives and meandering along multiple timelines simultaneously. This is the secret way to wealth.
My good friend Rob Burylo in his book "The Wealthy Buddhist" defines the process of wealth creation in a beautiful way:
You create an exceptional amount of value for a few people
You create value for an exceptional number of people
Or both
Rich could be defined as an exceptional amount of money, to stick with Mr. Burylo's suggestion. This defines it so well.
Money
However, it is not money you are after. Money is just an effect. It is the result of providing value to the world. If you find a need and fill it, and you are able to do it at a large enough scale, you will be rewarded with money as a consequence of your actions.
So, do not pursue money for money's sake. Try to find an opportunity to offer value to others. Find a way to be of service so that people will make you rich by gladly and thankfully giving you thier money for giving them something they needed or wanted.
If you provide a service that is quite easy to replicate and that most people can do to the same level of quality, it is really not worth much. The service is not rare or valuable because it is easy to do, and anyone can do it. The result being, that particular service doesn't pay very well. It doesn't matter whether the economy is doing well or the cost of living is going up. It doesn't matter what your level of "seniority" is, if the service or product you are providing is not rare or difficult to reproduce, it is not worth much, nor will it ever be.
So providing value, making it available to as many people as possible and letting modern technology take care of the logistics makes for a repeatable and profitable path to wealth. You can replicate it over and over again. Your up-front efforts will continue to pay dividends, even when you are off doing other things and creating new sources of value. This is how you leverage time.
Invest
One of the easiest ways to create a stream of income that keeps on trucking is investing. Investing can be intimidating and confusing, but it doesn't have to be. If you take a little time to learn the basics, you can have money coming into your life every month without much effort at all. You just have to learn how. It is not difficult.
In my book "Be Your Own Bank" I propose a method to invest your money that will make you rich. It is a simple formula that if you follow it, you will be amazed at the results. And the best thing about my method is that it does not require any additional money up front. You can start your wealth creation journey with your current income and grow it from where you are.
If you have spent any amount of time reading my articles here on my website, you are aware that I have offered up many different ideas for how to earn additional passive income through investing, entrepreneurship and financial education. I am dedicated to providing value to those who want it. My hope is, that when you purchase one of my books or courses, you feel you are receiving more value than what you paid for it.
If you are struggling financially, I want you to understand that I know how hard it is. I have been there many times and it feels horrible. It can seem like the walls are closing in and the world is against you. You will lose sleep at night worrying how you are going to take care of your family or how you will be able to eat.
I know how a bunch of words on a page can seem pretty pathetic in comparison the the real problems you face, but I need to tell you that you have options. There is a way out for everyone but it will take a new mindset. It will take knowledge, willpower and a new set of behaviours to dig your way out. If you are willing to change, you can create change. Money will not solve your problems, only YOU can. You need to become something more. You need to be better. That is the only way.
"The lord helps those who help themselves"
So take the time to invest in yourself. Learn what you need to know to make your life what you want it to be. If someone out there is living the life you want, then you know it is possible, because no-one is super-human. Everything they did to become wealthy is a learnable skill and they just know something you don't.
Forget about the athletes, musicians and movie stars. They are such a small proportion of the wealthy that it is laughable. The real rich earned their money through methods that work, are repeatable and learnable by anyone. You can be that someone. The knowledge is out there in books, courses, seminars and videos. Feed your mind with useful information and you will become more.
More powerful
More persuasive
More valuable