destined for success

         Faith is taking the first step even when we don’t see the whole staircase – MLK

Destined for Riches

Fear

Have you ever wondered why we suddenly feel afraid? Or why unsophisticated people succeed, while very smart ones fail? Why are we afraid to walk into a bank and ask for a loan? And why God-faring people live in poverty. Our circumstances are dictated by subtle changes in our environment. Scientist call this the ” butterfly effect theory”.  Never heard of it you say, then go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect. I believe that small changes in our daily lives can produce significant benefits financially.

Money 

Billionaire Sir Richard Branson recently said “money is the lubricant that gets things done, but it’s not the end game”. This has shaken my view about money. This, coming from a man who owns over three hundred companies, really set me thinking more about wealth. For one thing, it means that money is not to be hoarded, but used to improve the lives of those around us.

For too long people have been fed a boatload of lies about money. We were brainwashed into believing that having money is evil. All our lives we have been hearing that “rich people are going straight to hell”; or ” it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven ” Well, metaphorically or not, it have done profound damage to our psyche. This flawed thinking needs to be fundamentally extricated from our minds. We need a structural shift in our financial knowledge.

Structural Shift

So, how do we correct this. First, we need to understand how we got here. In 1910 there was a banking crisis, just like the one we just had. A few very powerful bankers got together on Jekyll Island and plotted to form the Federal Reserve bank. It was under the disguise of a “duck hunt”.Read  http://www.jekyllislandhistory.com/federalreserve.shtml

On Jekyll Island they formulated the plan to shift the wealth from the citizens to the banks. It worked so good, they created banking crisis every few decade to divert massive sums of wealth away from the people, in the form of government bailouts. It still continues today.

Debt

When you go to college, you are bombarded with credit card applications. Your friends will all sign up and so will you. Banks know there’s a high probability you will graduate. You will strive to meet your obligations, and they get a new source of debtors. Banks need debtors.

So, you graduate from college. Then comes marriage, children, a mortgage, and stuff.Lots of Stuff!! Americans buy more stuff than anybody else. We have half a percentage point saving record,  yet we consume the most merchandise on the planet. From two hundred dollars sneakers, to six hundred dollar smart phones. Apple brings out a new model every year and there’s a line camped outside their stores for days. Just for bragging rights. We’re jaded into believing that these things make a difference. There are six billion people on this planet, do they really care that we own an new Iphone.  No! absolutely not.

The solution

The flawed thinking is “hard coded” into our brains. How do we change it? We must rewire our thought process. Force ourselves to think differently. See money as a means to an end, and not the other way around. Get our mind around having a lot of money. Talk about money with people who are more knowledgeable than us. Remove fear and doubt from our mind. And formulate practical methods. Try these for a start.

1. Make purchases out of necessity, not want.
2. Make larger credit payments than the minimum balance. Banks don’t necessarily like that. Ask bank to lower our interest rate, they can only deny us.
3. Become a giver not a taker. Rich people do donate to charity, more than we would like to believe. And not because of taxes.
4. Open a brokerage account even if we don’t know anything about stock, or bonds, or commodities. Go online and read about them, its all there - free.
5. Think about buying a piece of real estate, even if you have to do it with someone else. But first seek legal advice.
6. Save for the rainy day, and when it don't come, save for someone’s else rainy day.
7. Buy saving bonds for your children, not another expensive sneaker.
8. Invest in someone else’s life if we can afford it.
9. Use the time here wisely, don’t waste it on Netflix, Facebook, twitter, or any social media.
10. Get a part time job, and use that money to invest; or pay off credit cards. And best of all, use debit cards to pay for everything.

Make small changes financially; see huge rewards in your life, emotionally.