21st Century Academy

What is the greatest difference between someone who merely makes an income and someone who is truly wealthy? It is in their mindset. Let’s examine this premise a bit further.

Many of us, even in this failing economy, tend to want to buy. We covet the latest and greatest gadget, the fastest computer, the newest piece of technology. Too often we gauge our success against that of others, and worry more about keeping up with the Joneses than taking care of ourselves.

With that kind of philosophy you will never get rich.

Dedicate Yourself to Building Wealth

There is no easy way to become rich. It takes a lot of dedication and the ability to resist making unnecessary expenditures.

It also involves saving every extra penny to accommodate those unexpected expenses. It is nearly impossible to build wealth if you lose all your assets due to an extended illness, loss of a job, or the theft of your identity.

What is Wealth?

Wealth is more than just cash in the bank. It is defined as all of your assets. Income is just a way to pay the bills. Conversely, wealth is extra money, much like a savings account. It is wealth that is used to contribute to investments, to reduce debt, and to create liquid assets.

The way to increase your wealth is to funnel as much as you can from your income into accounts which will either pay down amounts you owe in loans or produce a profit, such as stock market investments.

Take the time to figure out how much money you need to reach your financial goals. It may be less than you thought and the prospect of real wealth may be well within your reach.

Wealth is also how you feel in life. Two people can have fists full of money but one may be wealthier than the other because of all the joys in his or her life. A great way to get the right wealth mindset is to look for a coach or mentor. Jamie McIntyre is a self-made millionaire and offers a free e-book that can help get you started on a route toward wealth.

To your success,

Clint Maher

bookmark this

We accept that in order to be wealthy and successful we have to learn how to do things differently. We know that we need new strategies for making money, and also for managing the finances that we do have in a way that makes us the priority. And certainly not least of all, we need to develop the mindset and attitude that is the foundation of wealth and success.

We know all of this is necessary, but looking at that list there is a lot we need to know. There are also many, many resources that can deliver that knowledge. It can be too much of a good thing.

Wading Through Wealth Creation

There have been volumes and volumes written about how to be successful and how to build wealth. So many of those volumes really are excellent resources; others, of course, are just fluff and scams trying to ride on the coattails of an ever-popular subject. But even considering only the best of the best, it can be enough to overwhelm the most dedicated of wealth creators. It’s enough to turn your determination into a case of information overload.

When that happens, you run the risk of repeating old mistakes and failing to achieve your financial goals. You become too wrapped up in the process of learning that you cannot ever move on to the actionable part of it. Or, you become understandably overwhelmed and give up, despite having learned some very useful things about building wealth.

Paradoxical Success

It seems a paradox, but realistically information overload can be as much a factor for failure as seeking no advisement at all. The good news is that this is a situation that is easily combated. It requires focus and attention to your wealth education and your goals. It requires picking and choosing among those resources, and actually ignoring a lot of what’s out there, at least for the time being.

It may seem that reading anything and everything you can regarding wealth and success is the way to go, but this strategy does have its limits. Getting just enough of a good thing is what is necessary, so that you can keep your focus, move toward your goals, and manage and absorb what you learn. Come back for the next post and we’ll talk a little more about how you can manage wealth development resources so that information overload does not become the object of your dream’s demise.

Sean Rasmussen
21st Century Academy
Universal Wealth Creation © 2004 - 2009

bookmark this

I hope the New Year has brought you here out of a resolve to either make this your year to achieve financial success, or to continue your already rising accomplishments. I will venture that to be the case given the nature of our blog and discussions here, and so I will be so bold as to congratulate you on that resolve!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Now that we’ve got the formality of the first behind us, we can move on to one of the most important factors in wealth creation—action!

Action comes in many forms. If you’ve been around a while, you’ll remember our discussions on that in the past. If you’re new to our blog, feel free to muck around in the archives to see more discussions on the topic. For now, we’ll keep it short and sweet, and suffice to say that even your being here is an action with the potential to produce wealth and success.

Recognize Effective Action

Before I digress too far, let me get us back on track by laying out the point of my banter. The point is that many people do not see some of the most important aspects of wealth creation as actions. For example, they do not see that reading and research is a form of action towards wealth. Some can see that participation in a wealth education course or seminar is, but many times people even write the importance of these things off and think of wealth-producing actions as being only those things that directly result in cash in hand—something like a stock market investment, for example. The problem is, the average person is not ready for that direct action. First, they have to act upon the foundation blocks of wealth-building; blocks like wealth education, learning, and mindset changes.

Let this be the year you take action, but let it be the year that you take effective action. Don’t repeat the mistakes of the past, focusing your time and energies in the wrong places. This year, have a plan. Plan for action and take it! We’ll be here to help you with the rest as those times come around.

Sean Rasmussen
21st Century Academy
Universal Wealth Creation © 2004 - 2009

bookmark this

There are many theories regarding how best to set goals, plan for the day, and organize your time. This post isn’t about to delve into all of those, but in the spirit of taking you throughout the day in a spirit of positivity, wealth, and productivity, let’s talk about how you might help yourself along at the end of the day. And don’t worry; I know you’re tired then, hopefully contentedly so, so I won’t make it difficult.

Finding The Good At Day’s End

Remember the feeling of satisfaction you get from a job well done? From meeting a challenge and rising to it? I’m sure you can relate, but how about capturing that feeling at the end of every day? Wouldn’t that do a lot to carry you though to your morning of appreciation, and on through the next day? And the next? And the one after that? I’m sure you get the point.

While it’s good to start your day looking forward, it’s also good to save time for reflection on the good, progress, value, and positivity that has passed. Why? Primarily to feed from it and recognise it—to know that it’s there so that you know you’ve made progress toward your financial prosperity and toward a better life all around (because in reality there is no separating the two, is there?)

This can be as simple as how you start your day—with 30 seconds of positive reflection, picking out all the good that came of your day, or with a few minutes spent journaling. You can forget about beating yourself up for what you didn’t accomplish, regret does you no good. See how you did progress and let that snowball, attract, and build more productivity.

Staying motivated and on track in wealth development programs requires that you stay focused on what you are doing in the here and now, and on where you are going—what you are achieving in both the short and long term. Look forward to every new day, and appreciate those you’ve lived.

Sean Rasmussen
21st Century Academy
Universal Wealth Creation © 2004 - 2008

bookmark this

I’m going to start with a quote that is making its way around my blogs; it comes from Napoleon Hill’s classic financial empowerment text, and it is a very good example of how simple wealth creation really is fundamentally:

“One sound idea is all it takes for a person to achieve success.”

One Sound Idea

Think about that. One. Sound. Idea. One single idea is all it takes to catapult your actions and efforts toward building wealth. All it ever took anyone to become rich was one sound idea. All it took Jamie McIntyre to be the millionaire and wealth mentor he is today is one sound idea.

This is very much related to our talks about how it only takes one step beyond the norm to be rich and successful. Taking a step indicates action. Before that you have to have the idea. One is no good without the other, but together they are a powerful team.

An Ocean Of Success Awaiting

When you put it like that, when you come down to the very basic fact that it only takes a single, solitary, sound idea to build wealth, it doesn’t sound that hard, does it? Anyone is capable of having an idea. More often than not people are absolutely bursting with great ideas; they just don’t act upon them.

Think about how many ideas cross your mind in the course of a day. Just one day. Expand that to a week, and a month. Now do you see the ocean of potential that’s waiting inside your head? Take just one of those ideas and couple it with the power of positive mindset and action that you learn from the 21st Century Academy—the guidance to guide your great ideas. What a winning formula for success!

Consider this one a post for anyone who ever doubted that they could succeed and be wealthy. Consider it a post for the overwhelmed, the financially struggling, the financially undereducated (which is everyone relying on an old-school education). Consider it proof that anyone can succeed and be rich. And now enjoy some time basking in a sea of great ideas, knowing that all you have to do to be rich is pick just one!

Sean Rasmussen
21st Century Academy
Universal Wealth Creation © 2004 - 2008

bookmark this