I like to start my seminars with a disclaimer. I make sure that the audience understands that what I talk about is not how to make money. My whole message is about how to manage money, and more specifically, how to invest it.

I think a lot of people have a hard time making that distinction. Earning money is a whole world unto itself. Everyone has their own, unique way of trading value for money, and if I were to make any sort of comment on those activities it would be to earn as much as you can. Once you have money coming in, then we can talk,

When they say to “Pay yourself first” that means you insert an activity between Earning and spending. Most people skip this step. They earn, then spend and hope there is some left over. In my experience, there isn’t usually much left over. It is far too tempting to spend all that you earn and then some. We want everything NOW. We want the latest and greatest gadget. We want to enjoy life now and pay for it later.

My only problem with this way of living is that it is precarious. It works fine if you:

Earn lots of money
Spend less than you earn
Plan on working forever

Personally, I find it difficult to do all three of these things. So what is the solution? To pay myself first.

I take all the money I earn and feed it into my money machine and then I spend what the machine allows me to. You can learn more about my money machine here.

But people seem to ignore the first part of the sequence. Income.

Earning money

You can only be responsible with money if you earn some. You need input in order to control the output. My ideas and methods are for people who provide value to the world and are compensated for that value. My plan will not work if you have no money.

The good news?

The amount of money you earn is not as important as what you do with it. If you manage it well and invest properly, you will get ahead no matter how much you bring home. There is no question. Of course, the more you earn the faster financial freedom will find you, but I think the psychological benefits of just knowing you have a plan and are moving in the right financial direction is half the battle. You will make all kinds of excellent decisions once you are committed to growing that which you already have.

So please take earning money seriously. You need money to survive in this world and the more of it you earn the more of it you can keep and put to work for you. I have written articles about multiple streams of income before, as I feel that having more than one source of income is a great idea in order to protect you from job loss, business failure and other unforeseen events, as well as it increases the amount you earn, therefore accelerating your journey to financial abundance. I think it is a great idea, but I do not teach any methods to do so. That is not my expertise.

So if you have earning money figured out, I encourage you to insert money management/investing into the flowchart. Before you spend it, put it to work. Money can be difficult to come by and we usually have to work really hard to earn it. Don't let that hard work go to waste. Discipline yourself to compound that hard work by having your money earn you more money in perpetuity. There is no better feeling than having money grow instead of shrink.

Money is such an integral part of our lives we sometimes forget how much we rely on it. It is everything we do. It costs money to pay for life, and the quality of our life with always have a certain degree of dependence on our income. Crime and addiction and suffering tend to be more prevalent in impoverished locations than affluent ones. What does that tell you? Ignoring money might not be the best plan.

Also, there is no righteousness in poverty. That is a myth. There are good and bad people in all walks of life. You always have that choice, unless poverty and desperation limit your choices.

If you have a source of income, my ideas are for you. If you are looking to get rich quick, I am not your guy. Just so we are on the same page.

My hope is that my ideas can help you to find financial peace and optimism. I believe that anyone can improve their situation by applying the principles I teach in my books and courses.

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