6 Things You Take For Granted That Can Make You Rich
How successful you are depends on how well you can use your body and mind
No individual’s wealth is stopping you from becoming rich. There are certain resources available to us that can be exploited towards wealth and value-creation.
Contrary to what most of us assume, we do not need to come from an affluent background to become financially well-to-do in life.
Now, more than at any other time in history, becoming rich has become just as possible for one individual as it is for the other.
Sadly, we tend to take for granted the very things that can make us rich.
Fishes do not know they’re in water, and we too are often incognizant of the resources and opportunities within our reach.
We must awaken to possibilities and opportunities within our reach. We must learn how to leverage them. All wealth is created through leverage, and until we begin to see what we do have, we would continue to assume we have nothing.
They is a popular saying that ‘only those who realize that they already have can have more’.
Here are 6 resources we can leverage from where we are:
I. Freewill
You can, for no reason at all decide to enroll for a degree in Greek Mythology. You can decide to attend a seminar or seek someone to mentor you on money-making. You can decide to do whatever it takes to make $1 on the internet, and then seek to make $10, $100, $1000, and so on. If you want to, you can become rich too, you do not need anyone’s permission to alter the trajectory of your life.
The one thing that makes every human potentially rich is Freewill.
Because you have Freewill, you can decide to make today ‘Day One’ of your financial freedom journey.
You can choose to commit to acquiring information, skills, and knowledge that will put you on the path to riches. You can find a mentor or a coach to aid you. You can choose to focus and get serious about creating the life of your dreams.
It is surprising the number of people who believe they are not ‘permitted’ to be rich. Your life is not on autopilot, you can change your trajectory. Remember, this is your life, your only life.
II. Imagination
Think of all the great prose that has been written, all the music that has been composed, businesses that have been built, products and services that have been created, everything that humanity has invented began as a simple idea. Every one of them, the product of human imagination.
As Steve Jobs puts it: “…Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you”
Anyone who assumes that Rich people have a monopoly of wealth creation is being mistaken. As long as no human has the monopoly of imagination, no human has the monopoly of value creation and money-making.
You do not need to have money to be rich in imagination and creativity.
There is no limit as to how the resources of the universe can/would be combined to create value. And as such, there is no limit to the wealth that humanity can and will create. Value is constantly being created and traded.
Do not ever take your imagination for granted, it can make you rich. Do whatever it takes to make sure it flourishes. Expose yourself to great ideas and concepts, and adopt mental models that empower you to consistently put your imagination to constructive use. Avoid people and concepts that stifle your imagination.
It is often said that the graveyard is the richest place in the world. It is simply because of all the ‘imagination’ that lay there that can no longer be tapped from or put to use.
You are alive, put your imagination to use.
III. Time
We all have 24 hours/day, and we all spend this 24 hours differently. The way you chose to spend your 24 hours can make a difference in your life.
Time is a blank canvas that we can paint whatever we want on. Our time is spent through attention. What we devote our attention to is what we’re devoting our time to.
One of the smartest things anyone can do in life is to devote their time and attention towards attaining The One Thing that will make the rest of their lives easier.
We all desire to be rich is so we can afford more options in life.
WHATEVER may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is rich. No man can rise to his greatest possible height in talent or soul development unless he has plenty of money; for to unfold the soul and to develop talent he must have many things to use, and he cannot have these things unless he has money to buy them with. - Wallace D. Wattle: ‘The Science of Getting Rich’
It makes sense that we channel our time and attention towards becoming that which we desire to become. Invest time to learn about money and partake in the money-making process. Find someone who’s doing what you desire to and learn from them. Become a bit selfish with your time. Life is full of distractions and energy/time-drains. You cannot afford to dish out your time and attention to the numerous stuff that asks for it.
Our time on earth is limited, do not take this for granted. Leverage time, do not waste it.
There are lots of things scheming for our time and attention that are of no real benefits to us. Ignore them. Unapologetically commit your time and attention to things that are worthy of your time.
Almost every advancement in technology is geared towards helping us save time. Our time is valuable, and how we chose to spend it can make a difference in our lives.
Take back control of your time, and deliberately channel it in areas where you seek growth. Use your time to better your life.
IV. Reputation
Every human has a reputation. Our ‘reputation’ is other people’s perception of us. Anyone can strategically mould, harness, and monetize their reputation.
An individual who consistently dishes out content about business opportunities and investment would in no time be associated with that. And people who need ‘expert’ advice in that area would likely reach out to them.
Our reputation is something that we can conscientiously build and leverage to create wealth. In practice, we do not have control over our reputation, but we can considerably influence it by building character. If you have chosen to be a reliable person, you would be trusted, and people will be willing to do business with you. It is always easier to sell to people when you’ve gained their trust.
Even if one has no reputation of note, it is within their powers to create character that will lead to a favorable reputation. Anyone can reinvent themselves to be of some sort of value to others. You can become funny, honest, valuable, considerate, creative, reliable, articulate, knowledgable, helpful, etc.
Interests and businesses pay billions of dollars yearly to leverage the reputation of others through endorsements. Reputation is Social capital. Individuals and Brands knowingly squeeze the juice out of it.
Your reputation can be a tool for economic growth. Even if you have nothing, a great reputation, if optimally exploited, can take you places.
All thanks to the internet, it has become easy for anyone to reinvent themselves and acquire a reputation that is of economic value. Lots of people have successfully made themselves relevant to other people on the internet and beyond.
Do not take your reputation for granted, it can make you rich.
V. Network
A lot of people underrate the potential of a quality network. Some view their network as a collection of people that they can milk or take from. But that is the absolute wrong way to see it.
Your network is a collection of people that you contribute to. It is less about what you can get and more about what you can give. If you seek to enrich your network, then you become more likely to get the most out of it.
In networking, what is even better than merely seeking connections, is being the Connect. If you consistently seek to contribute to others, people would be drawn to you, and they would want to contribute to you as well. That is how life works.
Make no mistake about this, people prefer to affiliate with people that add or can add value to their lives.
Networks are best when there are structured to be a win-win for all involved. Your network does not have to be people of the same tribe, industry, or economic standing as you. The more diverse your network, the better.
Do not for a second let your ego trick you into the idea of becoming self-made. Nobody in life is self-made. We are all in some way or the other leveraging on the knowledge, expertise of mere benevolence of others.
I naively spent close to a decade trying to make things happen on my own. It was stupid. I missed out on opportunities to get mentoring that could have set me on the right economic footing, and that mistake put me behind by almost a decade. Don’t make the same mistake. Build relationships with people and seek how you can mutually benefit from them. Consistently find ways to contribute to people, and enrich your network, and riches will come knocking on your door.
VI. Internet
The main thing about the internet is that it pools information and people together, and where ever one finds a pool of people, one finds a market. The internet is the world’s largest and most encompassing marketplace. And the best part is that it is available to anyone.
We have no idea how lucky we are to have the internet in this age and time. The opportunity that the internet has brought is one that people could not have foreseen just a few decades ago.
The internet is the biggest goldmine ever.
No infrastructure in history has directly and broadly brought about the level of economic emancipation that the internet has. And that party is just getting started.
The internet has in so many delightful ways phased out the middlemen and gatekeepers that have for ages halted the growth and economic liberation of individuals.
Whatever it is you want to do, you are quite likely a Google Search away. No other generation in history had it this good. The ease with which anyone can access valuable information, market, and opportunity is phenomenal.
More people need to embrace the idea of leveraging the internet for economic empowerment and growth. The internet offers us an opportunity that we cannot afford to take for granted.