Can you keep a secret? I'll bet you can't keep one as well as the Secret of How To Become Wealthy Has Been Kept.
Secrets. Secrets. More Secrets. Everyone loves a secret. A little inside information. The scoop...
I am sure you remember hearing, the "I know something you don't know" taunt when you were a half pint in grade school.
We all learned that the best secrets need to be passed along in whispers. We first learn to whisper in childhood when our parents try to teach us how to use your "talk like we're in church" voice. For a kid, enthusiasm requires a lot of volume. For a secret, hushed tones and a little privacy are in order.
Once we are in grade school, we whisper secrets in the ears of our friends. We sometimes even made things up. And sometimes, we started a rumor, not really meaning to, but we did it all the same.
The insatiable curiosity of the human spirit to learn new things is what drives us to the "I have to know" point where we beg our friends, "Cmon.... I promise I won't tell anyone. Tell me. You can trust me." We really meant it when we said it, but then, once we actually learn what all the hub-bub is really about, that's when things change.
What happens next is interesting. The value of the telling someone else soon outweighs the risk of becoming unworthy of the confidence that was placed in us. Then we spill our guts. But, not before asking the newest recipient to pinky swear they will not tell another soul. Then it repeats.
I am willing to do my part. So lean in close, because I want to share one of the most closely guarded secrets with you, that really isn't a secret at all. It is just hidden in plain sight.
I will tell you on one condition, and you have to cross your heart, hope to die, stick a needle in your eye... Alright, maybe that sounded a bit better when we were kids, but you have to promise that you will tell everyone you know AND tell them where you heard it.
Here it is. The secret is that you were born to be a millionaire.
Let that soak in for a minute, because it is absolutely true. By merely being born in the U.S., you are pretty much destined to be a millionaire.
Before you think I should be committed, let me clarify. You will earn more than a million dollars in your lifetime. More than ONE MILLION DOLLARS will pass through your fingers.
So, why aren't we all wealthy? Why don't we all retire and live terrific lifestyles?
The main reason is that we are not taught very much about about money, and what to actually do with it when we get it. Another reason is because you aren't actually supposed to keep very much of it.
But, wouldn't it be cool if you got it all in one lump sum? It would be more than cool, it would change everything we think about money.
The problem is that we get it incrementally, or in periodic installments. Maybe you get yours weekly, or bi-weekly, bi-monthly? It doesn't really matter how it arrives, what matters is who actually gets to keep it. Is it you or a bank? A credit card company? Loan Company?
Just as much as we get our income on the installment plan, we spend it on the installment plan. Some of us, even spend more than we get.
So, the secret to wealth really isn't a secret at all. It doesn't involve picking a penny stock, and hoping someday you will be the next Warren Buffet. It doesn't require you to win the Lotto, you already did. You are already wealthy. Incrementally wealthy.
The real secret of being a millionaire is that you have to actually HAVE the money. As shocking as this might sound, in order to REMAIN wealthy, you have to actually keep your money or at least most of it. A millionaire without his million is just someone who busts his hump every day.
Let me give you a great example; I am sure you have heard stories about people who win the lottery, and then they have people come out of the proverbial woodwork asking for their money.
People like your long lost Uncle Willy, who has a terrific idea to design a car that runs on gravity. It sounds a lot like a soap box derby car, but hey, who knows? It could turn out to be a winner if you never need to go uphill.
Or your environmentally minded third cousin, twice removed, who wants you to pay for a study of the yellow freckled, double chinned toad that looks a lot like a frog you might see around your own pond.
Before you know it, the Lotto winner is flat broke. The result of a series of bad decisions with a large sum of money looks identical to bad decisions made with small incremental amounts of money.
The irony is that there are an equal number of people trying to get their hands on your MILLION as it comes in, as there are with a Lottery winner.
Which is why most people in this country will retire and live on an income close to or below the poverty level. Since we get our million on the installment plan, we know there is always something more coming right around the corner. There is comfort in "tomorrow". A buy now, pay later mentality that must be stopped.
The primary reason you probably haven't ever had someone share this secret with you, is that it requires you to buy in to the idea of keeping your money and not just "buying". It requires a shift in your thinking which is uncomfortable for most of us.
Banks and credit companies don't want you to know this secret. If you did, you wouldn't be so inclined to let them get their hands on your money. So, rather than tell you the truth about already being a millionaire, and teaching how to be successful with what you do have, you are bombarded by other ways to get rich.
"How to make a fortune in real estate." "Make a fortune with Penny stocks", Learn internet marketing", "Selling on E-bay the easy way", the list goes on and on.
It just doesn't make too much sense to chase the million you don't have, rather than keep the one you are almost guaranteed to get.
That's why it is still a secret. If you thought this way, you wouldn't be the "spender" they need you to be.
So, now the secret is out. Go tell someone.
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