Think Like The Rich: Getting Started

• “There is gold everywhere. Most people aren’t trained to see it.”

• Getting started requires two actions. 
• First, you have to decide what your general financial goal is. 
• Second, you have to become financially literate so that you learn to think like the rich.

• A goal is different from a wish. You may wish to be rich, but that doesn’t mean you’ve ever taken any practical steps to make this wish come true.

• “Most people dream of becoming rich, but it isn’t their first choice. That’s because the effort and uncertainty of becoming rich disturb them, and they seek refuge in the easier goals of security or comfort.”

• “Nothing is more tragic than to see people who have sold themselves short on what’s possible for their lives. Take the time to discover possibilities, and the lesson will be priceless.”

• Most people try to live frugally, scrimping and saving, and they think they’re being financially smart. In truth, they’re limiting themselves. Most people spend their lives imprisoned by financial ignorance. It shows up in their faces and in their attitudes as they get older.

• Draft out the plan of secure, comfortable and rich life. 
• It is to show you that you have choices, more than you may have ever imagined—and that you need to make decisions about those choices. 
• Too many people go from job to job or business to business without getting where they want to be financially. They wander through life without a plan, and all the while their most precious asset, time, is dwindling away. This doesn’t have to happen to you.

• Acquiring wealth is rarely easy. One thing that is easy, however, is learning to think like the rich so that you can identify great financial opportunities.

• By making a plan to get rich, you’re taking the first real step in that direction.

POINT 1: IDENTIFY THE DEEP-SEATED REASONS YOU WANT TO BE RICH

• To stay on the road to riches, you must have deep-seated reasons compelling you forward. 

POINT 2: CHOOSE DAILY TO BE RICH

• People who think that making money is too much of a hassle never will make it. They’re sealing their own fate by robbing themselves of their two most precious assets: time, and a mind open to learning.

POINT 3: SELECT YOUR FRIENDS CAREFULLY

• Don’t want to spend too much time around financially frightened people—the Chicken Littles of the world.
• If you really want to be rich, cultivate friendships with successful people, ones who seek out and talk about opportunity. These are the people who will become your mentors and who will help you meet your financial goals.
• “Who you spend your time with is your future.”

POINT 4: FIND FINANCIAL HEROES TO EMULATE

• Instead of listening to the naysayers, find heroes who make it look easy and listen to their stories.
• If you find heroes to emulate, you’ll tap into a tremendous reservoir of power that will help give you strength.

POINT 5: PAY YOUR ADVISORS WELL

• Professionals will charge you for their services. But if they’re smart and competent, the more money they make, the more money you’ll make.
• They may wind up being your best assets. When you meet difficulties in implementing your plan, they’ll be there to protect and assist you.

POINT 6: MASTER ONE FORMULA AND THEN GO ON TO THE NEXT

• To make bread, the baker follows a recipe. The same is true for making money.
• The hard part, of course, was having the discipline to study the formula and implement what I’d learned.
• In today’s fast-changing world, it’s not so much what you learn that counts, but how fast you learn it.

POINT 7: PAY YOURSELF FIRST

• Learn how to pay yourself first—even before you pay your bills. Because when you pay everyone else first, there is often nothing left for you.
• If you’re disciplined, you can pay yourself first without ruining your credit. The trick is to keep your personal expenses low. If you’re under pressure from creditors, the pressure will actually inspire you to come up with new ways of making money.
• Start paying yourself first today, and you’ll get into a lifelong habit of building assets.

POINT 8: GET SOMETHING FOR FREE

• When you make an investment, you should:
• First, ask how long your money will be tied up. 
• Second, you should ask what you can expect in the way of return on investment.
• With every one of your investments, whether it’s a paper security or a tangible asset, you should get something for free.

POINT 9: DON’T BUY LUXURIES WITH CREDIT

• “Borrowing is easier in the short term but harder in the long term. Don’t buy luxuries until you’ve built the assets to afford them.”
• Use the desire to consume not to buy, but rather to inspire your financial genius to invest.