In order to become wealthy you must become a different person than you are now, unless you are already rich. Let me explain.

In order to become rich, you must do certain things. And these things must be done consistently over a long period of time amidst any number of difficult circumstances. Without exception.

I have written about this before, but I really didn't get into the psychology of it all. This is the hard part that nobody wants to hear. The gurus skip over this because it doesn't "feel good".

The formula for achieving financial independence isn't complex. In fact, it is quite easy.

Step one:

Spend less than you earn.

Step two..

Not so fast, you. Let's revisit step one for a moment.

Step one means, you go to work every day and make a habit of spending less than you earn and/or living below your means. This simple action requires an extraordinary degree of self-discipline, patience, self-sacrifice and long-term thinking. Are you doing that consistently now? If not, there is a reason why.

You are your habits. Your habits dictate who you are, because our actions show the world what we are made of. We can be "nice" or "smart" or even "good looking" but unless we treat people well (nice), solve hard problems (smart) and spend time grooming (good looking) we are NOT those things. We are just the potential of those things, even though we may truly believe we are on the inside. Until we manifest our inner being into tangible action and habits in the real outside world, we are nothing.

This may be a hard pill to swallow but it needs to be said. As the old folks say:

"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions"

In the pursuit of wealth, you must act the right way, day in and day out until you are rich. Wishing will not get you there. Visualising will not get you there. Talking about it in your "mastermind group" will not get you there. The only thing that will change your life is your actions, as demonstrated through your habitual behaviours. No matter what.

As we all know, creating a habit is hard. It takes consistent action over a long period of time to accomplish. We all have good and bad habits and often we are not aware that we have them. We just get into a routine and that is that- habit formed. The cool thing is, we have the ability to get rid of old habits and create new ones.

We can create a new habit by doing something consistently over and over again for a long time. Some have said it takes at least three weeks to form a habit, some have said less or more than that. I say, the longer the better. There are some things, that you can create a habit of, that will enhance your life, and some that won't. It is up to you to decide. Choose a good habit and try to do it consistently for three months. This could be anything beneficial, like eating healthy, exercising, or spending less than you earn. Then be ready to work HARD at it.

In the scenario where we want to spend less than we earn we can start off with good intentions, but life is funny. There will always seem to be something that comes up that demands your money outside of your budget. The car breaks down. The insurance bill arrives. You need to buy a wedding present for your sister. There a million things that can detract you from your goal. This is where the rubber meets the road.

If you can summon the self-discipline to say "no" when the gang are going for beer and wings on a Thursday night after work, you are getting the hang of it. If you can look for bargains in the grocery store you are getting it. But let's see how serious you really are..

Are you willing to start packing a lunch instead of going out to eat?

Are you willing to take the bus?

Are you willing to shop at the thrift store?

OK that's great. Now let's get really serious.

Are you willing to move to a cheaper neighbourhood, or dwelling?

Are you willing to sell your car and walk/bike whenever you need to go somewhere?

Are you willing to get rid of cable and read books for entertainment?

Let's get crazy..

Are you willing to move into your sisters basement for a year or two until you get back on your feet?

Are you willing to take on a second job?

Are you willing to sell stuff you haven't used in a long time?

I am making these seemingly “crazy” suggestions because it may appear like you cannot get ahead because the world is against you or you have bad luck or worst yet, the system is rigged. I am here to tell you that yes, the system is rigged, but you must be willing to play the game as it is.

So many people are brainwashed into thinking there is a certain "standard of living" that they will accept and then try to live it, whether they can afford to or not. They have it in their minds that they couldn't possibly live without two cars, or be seen wearing last years fashions, even though they are behind on the mortgage payment. I am suggesting to you that financial freedom is not a result of serendipity, it is a result of your choices.

You Can Choose to be RICH

You have the power to create any kind of lifestyle that you want to. You just have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get there. You may not like what it takes. You may think that what it takes is unfair, or unreasonable. It doesn't matter how you feel about what its gong to take, it just matters if you choose to do it anyways. That is the reality. Some people are starting from a harder place than others, so their "what it takes" is going to be more difficult. You must accept your own starting point and move forward from there, whether you like it or not.

There is an actual set of actions and behaviours that will result in you becoming rich. But are you willing to do them? Are you willing to stop "pretending" that you are doing well and start actually doing well? Are you willing to take a sober assessment of your current circumstances and make the necessary changes in your lifestyle so that you can put yourself and your family on the road to riches? You have to accept that this will be hard, and you must do the uncomfortable and emotionally difficult task of becoming a different person.

Jim Rohn once said:

"If someone gives you a million dollars, you better hurry up and become a millionaire"

This is exactly why most lottery winners end up broke within 2 years of winning. Because they didn't change. They didn't become millionaires. They didn't learn how to manage money. They didn't learn how to put money to work for them. They didn't earn about leverage, and passive income. They didn't learn about multiple streams of income. You need to learn these things, and then act upon them or you will soon be parted from your money too.

You are where you are at financially because of who you are. If your current level of richness isn't where you would like it to be, the solution is not more money. The solution is to become the person you need to be to create more wealth. You become that person by adopting the behaviours and habits that will make you wealthy. These are not complicated behaviours, they are just hard. Your psychological battle will be hard. But if you turn these new behaviours into habits, then they will eventually be automatic and easy. You will then miraculously do them without thinking and willpower will no longer be an issue.

So if you can figure out a way to accept, embrace and become the behaviours that will bring the above Step 1 into reality, then the sky is the limit for you. It is arguably the hardest step but the most powerful. If you can demonstrate to yourself that you can consistently spend less than you earn for a year, then it is time to move onto step two.

Until such time as you can make Step 1 a habit, don't waste your time on anything further. You will need to work on yourself a little bit more, until you are confident that you have mastered the art of living below your means. You will have become a more confident and capable person and you will have the tools to continue your journey to financial freedom and wealth.

Once you are a Step 1 master, I invite you to learn how to become rich by reading my books, taking my courses or following the plans of others who have done it before. I know that my plan works, and I am confident that you can achieve wealth in a myriad of ways. But they all require you to change. You must become the person you need to be to rise above your current circumstances.