THE TIME IS RIGHT TO CHANGE YOUR HABITS
“Here’s the thing: when it comes to confidence and taking courageous action, so much of that is going to have to come from what you believe you should do, through being able to hear and distinguish your heart’s call, how your intuition’s speaking to you, that small voice inside that says, ‘You know what? Pick up the phone and make that call,’ or ‘This is the next action to take.’”
— Marie Forleo, interview with Dean Graziosi
This is a volatile, even crazy, time in American history. From the influence of divisive politicians whom people feel they can’t trust, to the negativity toward entrepreneurs who work hard and make a lot of money, societal norms are changing. As I noted earlier, most people will tell you that they feel they are working harder and faster to get things done, but to little effect; they strive to move up the ladder of success, yet for some reason it just isn’t happening.
Do you feel like you’re not getting the results you desire or deserve? Well, besides technology affecting this outcome, another factor exists that you may not even be aware of. The good news is that you’re not crazy for feeling like all your effort is for naught. It’s not your fault. Let’s see what’s really to blame.
PRODUCTIVITY VS. INCOME
In doing my research for this book, one statistic on productivity grabbed my attention the most.
If you look at the graph below, you will see that for many years productivity and wages were going up unilaterally on a steep 45-degree angle. However, as 1973 rolled around, things changed. Wages went flat, but productivity remained on the same incline. And what does that massive gap between wages and productivity suggest? It means we are getting more done as a society yet income hasn’t reflected this output. So when you feel like you’re working harder and faster and using today’s technologies to accomplish more, you are. However, wages are simply not keeping up.
That’s why you feel busier than ever and squeezed financially. The unfortunate fact is that the gap continues to widen. We can ignore it and blame others, or we can create the habits that multiply the income and success in our own homes.
The middle class is taking a serious hit. Some even say we are going toward a two-class society. Now, I know that politicians and those pushing their agendas have harped on this point, but I’m “localizing” the conversation—I’m talking about how it affects the economy in your house and within your family.
I’m not bashing the wealthy. Heck, in this book I am giving you the habits to become wealthy or increase the wealth you already have. But the statistics don’t lie. If you are not prepared and armed with the right tools, the shift that is happening in America could greatly affect you. And when I saw the graph below, I knew I had to share it. Up until 1981, all classes of income were rising at about the same rate. However, in about 1981 a split started to happen. The 1 percent broke away from the crowd, and since then the top 1 percent of earners’ income has gone up 138 percent, while the bottom 90 percent of earners’ income has only gone up 15 percent.
Here is an alarming look at the actual graph. But give me a minute to go through the so-called facts and then let me explain how they impact you.
From one perspective, the gap is getting wider and wider; it seems as though we are evolving into a two-tiered society. The middle class is getting squeezed out, and it’s obvious from this graph that this is not just a theory. This is real life. And it’s why you may be feeling the effects I talked about earlier.
As scared as that graph makes you feel, imagine this: What if that income gap you saw on the graph did not matter to you? What if you knew there were ways to become financially bulletproof and for you to create the “class” you desire in your life, in your home, and with your family?
NEW MEASUREMENT OF SUCCESS
You see, I have to believe statistics. And if they are alarming to you, great! More reason to continue reading and take action in your life. But what is even more alarming is what the term “middle class” means these days.
If you and your spouse make $120,000 a year combined, that means you are in the middle class. But should we cheer? What if one of you is working two jobs and the other has to put in extra time during the weekends? Sure, you might have a nice car, a beautiful house, vacations, and some other cool stuff. But maybe the kids are in day care and you rarely get to spend time with them. Maybe you and your spouse haven’t had quality time together in a while because you are just too busy. Maybe you and your spouse are, in fact, less engaged with each other because when you do talk it’s in between e-mails and text messages. Maybe you have your own business and feel overwhelmed every day. These are just a few scenarios of many. But my point is simple: Is this truly the middle class you want to strive for?
It’s time to redefine the middle class. More specifically, we need to start talking about the unfulfilled middle and the empowered middle. We need the same type of redefinition for the upper and lower classes.
It doesn’t really matter if you believe the middle class is disappearing. If you are doing okay financially but have a horrible quality of life, or if you are not living up to your full potential, this is not what life is meant to be about. Having money and no life sucks, and having no money and wishing you could create a life sucks. And I am going to continue to tell you throughout this book that with the right habits, it doesn’t matter where the economy is, what’s happening to the class system in this country, or who the president is. What matters is that you dance to your own beat. Remember, you want to become the thermostat, not the thermometer. In that way, you are in control of your personal economy and lifestyle. You can shape both to fit your requirements in a way that is meaningful and fulfilling. And yes, this goal is more than just a possibility when you believe in and have the right habits.
MONEY IS NOT EVIL
In my years of traveling and meeting thousands of my students firsthand, I’ve discovered that many of them have a limiting belief that money is somehow bad. This idea may have arisen from many sources—an antimaterialistic parent, a political ideology, or a religious doctrine. So before we get any further, let’s address this concept and make sure we have some clarity around it.
Getting wealthy may not cure every problem, but it sure can cure a lot of them. When you secure the economy in your household, then you can go out to dinner more, get someone to pick up your dry cleaning, hire someone to clean your house, pay off debt, buy a new house, take vacations, and give to charity. You can also allow your spouse to retire, enabling another person to fill his or her job and gain the income you no longer need.
So whether you want to help change the economy in the world, or you’re simply curious about what the next level of life would look like for you and your family, I believe this is the greatest time in history for you to gain what you desire. Let’s face it, capitalism is getting a bad name; entrepreneurs are sometimes seen as greedy and amoral rather than as crucial to our economic system. It sounds crazy to those of us who believe in this system, but it’s a belief that has taken hold in certain segments of society.
But here’s the real truth: money earned ethically allows you to do incredible things for the world.
Just about every single billionaire and supersuccessful multimillionaire I know made their money to secure a great life—and then they had a massive impact on the world. Most billionaires employ thousands of people. They also help family members and parents retire and support their kids as they move on in their lives. They help build churches, deliver water to places that don’t have it, and create charities and help fund them, often without asking for any public recognition. Because, like I wrote, money earned ethically can have incredible byproducts—benefits for friends, family, and the world.
If you’re reading this book, you have a desire for more in life. Go make yourself wealthy, become secure, and watch how much good you can do for the world.
Here is something else to think about. Society seems to be looking down on capitalism, entrepreneurship, and making money. Simultaneously, a lack of money causes more stress in people’s lives than any other one thing in this world. Experts say most divorces are caused by money problems, and that most people on anti-anxiety pills admit that it’s because of financial worries.
Most people who don’t feel connected to their children or spouse claim it’s because of a lack of money, time, or having a job they hate. Have you ever worried about money? Of course you have. “Do I have enough? Am I enough?” Those questions can rattle anyone’s cage. Here’s what one of my mentors taught me: “If you can cut a check for a problem, you don’t have that problem.” Repeat it like a mantra. If you can cut a check for the problem, you don’t have that problem. If you have bills that you’re stressed over, you cut a check, and that problem goes away. Worried about your kids’ college education? Cut a check, that problem goes away. Worried about your parents getting old and not having enough for retirement? Cut a check and let your parents retire, like I did. Are you worried about your future? Cut a check, that problem goes away. Is your business not doing as well as it could? Cut a check, that problem goes away.
Don’t tell me, “Money can’t solve issues.” When you get money out of the way, you’re allowed to be your best self. Think of it this way: If I was sitting next to you right now and squeezed your throat, the only thing you would think about is oxygen. But prior to that, I’m guessing taking your next breath of air wasn’t occupying your mind. You just go about every day knowing it’s there. The reason people are stressed about money is because they’re being squeezed by the amount coming in contrasted with how much they need to live the life they desire.
When worrying about money comes off your plate, you have the opportunity to be your best self. By shifting certain habits in your life, you will allow abundance and prosperity to flow to you in ways that might seem impossible at this moment. No magic money machine is in this book. There’s no button you’re going to push so your mailbox will be filled with checks. But what you’re going to get are simple recipes ideally suited to the complex times in which we live. They cut through all the confusion of modern life and provide a straight line between where you are now and where you want to be.
Have you ever wondered how two people could be brought up in similar environments, work in the same field, have similar jobs, and yet one of them is making twice as much as the other? Or why one person may excel at his job but then leave and do his own thing, while the other person says, “Oh, but the economy is bad, and the President and Congress and my boss is holding me back.” Two people, two completely different life results. The reason? The person who took his or her life to the next level had different daily habits than the one who sits back and simply wishes and hopes for more.
Throughout this book you’re going to see these habits in action and be excited about each and every one of them. And like I said earlier, it doesn’t matter where you’re coming from. It only matters where you want to go.
DON’T LET GO OF THE WHEEL
I want to end this chapter with a story I’ve been sharing for years. Imagine a farmer gets up every single day, and he puts his grain on the back of the tractor. He puts the tractor in gear, he drives out a mile into the pasture to feed the cows, and they all come running. He dumps the feed and goes back to the barn.
If he gets up every single day for 10, 15, 20 years and starts the tractor, puts the feed on, puts it in gear, and goes out to the same field, what will eventually happen? He’ll build ruts on the path to the cows. Eventually, he could just get up, throw the grain on the back, start the tractor, put it in gear, and let go of the wheel. That tractor will take him right out to that same spot he’s been going to for years.
Apply this story to your life and ask: Have I let go of the wheel? Do I have ruts that keep me doing the same thing every day? It doesn’t necessarily mean your entire life is in a rut, but that you might unconsciously do the same things daily expecting a different result. Do you have habits that make every day the same while you simultaneously hope an outside factor will change it? Maybe you’re waiting for a shift in the economy, a person to intervene on your behalf, or fate to present you with the winning lottery ticket? Have you become the thermometer instead of the thermostat?
I’m not judging. It happens to us all. Most people have let go of the wheel. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. So here’s what’s important about that farmer’s story: To change that farmer’s direction, to change his destination, he doesn’t have to make a dramatic 180-degree turn. It’s not like a New Year’s resolution where you feel the need to change everything about yourself. You don’t have to wake up tomorrow morning and start an entirely new routine—do yoga and then meditate and then practice gratitude for an hour. Yes, all those things are worthwhile, but all you have to do tomorrow is put yourself in the position of that farmer and turn that wheel a quarter of an inch. Just a tiny shift.
If he got up tomorrow and turned that wheel a quarter of an inch, by the time he got out a mile in the field, he wouldn’t even be able to see his old feeding grounds because he would be so far away. Those ruts would be no more, because he’d be carving a new path, a quarter inch at a time.
I know that there are other things you could be doing besides reading this book—watching television, going to a sports event, doing chores. But those things are always going to be there. Would you rather change a light bulb or your life? Getting rich isn’t about a magic pill that puts money in your bank account for doing nothing. It’s not about hitting the lotto. It’s not about waiting for someone to do something for you. It’s about changing your habits and your thoughts. And you can start today.
As John Paul DeJoria says, “The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people do the things the unsuccessful people don’t want to do.” I would add that successful people have a core set of habits that propel them. The average person confuses success with luck. But luck has nothing to do with it. Millionaire success habits do.
Now let’s look at where you are in your life and where you want to go.