An early mentor in my life taught that the major reason for setting any goal is what it is going to make of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than the actual goal. This is very true when it comes to goals that we set for ourselves and wealth.
What is your wealth goal? Close your eyes with me for a moment and let’s transport ourselves forward to that place where you have reached your wealth goal. You are there! Perhaps you’ve achieved your first profitable year in your business. Maybe for you it’s reaching that first year with a six figure income. Or perhaps it’s a seven figure income or even eight figures. Are you there? Can you see it? Are you smiling yet? Good! Now join me back here in this present day.
The point of that exercise is to take you forward mentally and emotionally. Getting to that point will change you. You will not get there without growing and evolving from who you are today. But what exactly will bring that transformational change and what does it mean in your life?
Let’s break it down. W-E-A-L-T-H
The W of wealth is really quite simple. It’s completely going back to the basics. It’s about WORK. As we work our way to wealth, the work we do, how we do it and our mastery of it is going to change. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase before that your net worth is in your net work. I’m going to challenge that and ask you to think about it this way: Your net worth will never exceed your SELF worth. Your self-worth is impacted more than anything else by the self esteem and confidence that grows from the accomplishments in your work.
So what is next? The E in wealth is about your EXPERIENCES. What are you experiencing in life? This is not about expertise, it is about the experience. Where are you going to go on this journey? What are you going to see? What are you going to experience? When I speak with highly successful people and they talk about their life, they talk about what they have experienced. They are collecting experiences and they are being enriched. A wealthy lifestyle is not about what you have. It is about how you use what you have, starting today. What experiences are you creating in your life?
Right after E, we come back to the beginning of the alphabet – A. This is also where I believe we come back to the beginning of setting ourselves up for sustainable success and that is our ASSOCIATIONS. You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with in any area of your life. We like our comfort zones and that includes keeping people close by that are comfortable. But the truth is that we need people that challenge us. Not as competitors, but as co-creators in this life. Associations go beyond just what people have attained or the goal you are stretching for. They also represent an alignment of values. And it is one of the best ways to connect. What causes are you associating with and who else is there? Those associations are priceless and beyond measure because of the WORK you will do together.
With L we find the wealth of LEARNING, of knowledge. But not just in the knowing, the wealth happens with understanding. Whatever we want to achieve in life requires us to be continuously learning. In today’s world, there is no static platform that is sustainable. Personal and professional growth is required. We need to take it in. As much information as we can about the skills and values we care about. That is what being a lifelong learner is about. It is a simple matter of curiosity and taking it in.
As we progress on our road to success we will certainly learn to cherish the wealth of T: TIME. One of the results of the journey is being smarter about how we invest our TIME and our partnership with it. Of the three resources we have at our disposal (money, energy, time) it is only one that is finite. Because of that, its value is increased.
Which brings us to H: On our journey to and through wealth, it is about HEALTH. Everything about our lives is impacted by our health. There is little point to reaching your other goals if you are not able to enjoy them. But let’s talk about this for a moment because sometimes I believe we confuse some of these terms. Health is a broad subject. A question to ask ourselves is this: “What are you tolerating that you can change?” When was the last time you were at the dentist, got your eyes checked, had an annual physical? Ladies – did you get your mammogram this year? Do more than share posts about Breast Cancer Awareness. Go get them checked! Be here at your best so you can serve at your best.
These six areas represent the forms of wealth where mastery will give you value beyond any monetary goals you achieve. These areas are also a great starting point for creating your Life Plan. When you are at your summit, what do each of these look like? Where are you today? How will you get there? Develop a strategy for true wealth and get started!
Live today like you want tomorrow to be. Live well.