21st Century Academy

“…you can make excuses in your life and you can make money, but you can not do both at the same time.”

–What I Didn’t Learn At School But Wish I Had

We are continuing today to move on through Chapter One of Jamie McIntyre’s book, where the discussion is centered on why people fail to be wealthy. We are looking for the answers to why 96 percent of people (the people Jamie calls the “96 percenters”) end up dead, broke, or dead broke by the age of retirement. One reason for this that cannot be ignored is blame and excuses.

There’s Always A “Reason”

It seems almost human nature to create excuses and blame other people and situations for what we have not achieved. Mind you, when we do achieve and succeed, we are much less likely to do this, and much more likely to take the credit, but in the case of continued financial failure there is always a “reason” why things are the way they are (of course, these aren’t really “reasons” but excuses, but we’ll get into that later).

For example, Jamie used to say that the reason he wasn’t wealthy was that he was owed too much money by other people, or that he needed money to make money, or had too much debt, that he wasn’t born into money or handed a leg-up, or simply because he wasn’t interested in money (but we’ve already talked about living in financial denial). Or he would imagine that the solution was evading him, and if someone would just help him out, or if he could find the “right” career, then everything would fall into place.

A Familiar Feeling

I’m willing to bet Jamie’s litany of excuses sounds familiar to you; it seems as humans we are not all that original in finding excuses for why we are not wealthy. But whatever it is you are telling yourself, you need to start realizing that those are not reasons for your lack of wealth.

The only way these sorts of excuses become reasons you are not wealthy is because you give over your power to them. You allow them to become hurdles to success, but only because you choose to. These are hurdles that are easily removed because all you have to do is stop playing the blame game and stop making excuses. It may be a familiar and comfortable place, but it’s not a productive one, and it will never make you wealthy. Take back your power and start putting it to better use.

To Your Continued Success!
Sean Rasmussen
21st Century Academy
Universal Wealth Creation © 2004 – 2009

Besides making Jamie McIntyre aware that he was really living in denial of his desire for money, his millionaire mentor gave him another piece of wisdom.

“If you want to become wealthy, you must not make money your god. Instead you have to learn to master money. If you can learn how to master it and have it work for you as opposed to you working for it, then money will no longer be an issue. Those things that are important to you like family, health, career, and relationships will always be your top priority.”

(from What I Didn’t Learn At School But Wish I Had)

The Turning Point

This conversation was a turning point for Jamie. Having decided that what his mentor said made perfect sense (and it does, doesn’t it?), Jamie started to shift his way of thinking about money. In the book he tells us,

“So I went from denying that I was interested in money to admitting that I was very interested in money because I loved my family dearly and valued my time and wanted to control my life. I decided right then that I was prepared to make the effort to master money, because if I did I could have the freedom I wanted. I learned subtle shifts make a big difference to what is going on inside our heads and this became a huge turning point for me.”

Permission To Care

Jamie and his mentor have put this all in much more understandable terms. It is very hard for people to let go of the feeling that they don’t care about money, mostly because we’ve spent decades in that line of thinking. Having a good reason to admit that you do care about money—like being able to take care of friends and family, and having the freedom to enjoy the important things in life—buffers the landing, so to speak.

When you permit yourself to care about money, you permit yourself to make it enough of a priority to make the other priorities of life top on your list. Caring about money is not equal to not caring about people or anything else; in fact, in truth, it is exactly the opposite. But it’s all in how you master it. Master money, master your life, and don’t let making money be your master any longer.

To Your Continued Success!
Sean Rasmussen
21st Century Academy
Universal Wealth Creation © 2004 – 2009

Before we leave the Foreward and move on toward the first chapter of Jamie McIntyre‘s book, there is one quote I’d like to draw some attention to. This is an important discussion to have right from the start, because it helps to really impress upon you the importance of the attitude you bring to this mission.

Not Just Curious, Committed

“My belief is that if you are not just curious but committed to excelling in your life in the 21st Century, then what you will find in this book will be a real gift to you from someone who cares about helping others achieve similar things, if you so desire…I commend you in advance for taking action and developing a 21st Century education, an education for life.”
-Jamie McIntyre, from What I Didn’t Learn In School But Wish I Had

Curiosity is not a bad thing, but it is not enough to make the bridge from want to have. Curiosity can be a very good thing, because it is often what brings people here, taking the first step towards a financial education and a wealthy, successful life. To go the rest of the way, though, you need more.

Commit To Your Personal Success

To go the distance and really achieve wealth, you need to commit to that effort. You need to build a desire to have it—a driving desire that motivates you every step of the way, even on the days when you’d rather not put in the work.

Both here on this blog and in all you do with the 21st Century Academy courses, seminars, and programs you will get nothing but reality; real choices, real possibilities, real opportunities, real life success. And real straight-talk. We won’t sit here and tell you that you can get rich quick because you can’t. But we will tell you that you can certainly succeed, earn financial freedom, and live a life of contentment and wealth, if you are willing to commit to it. That is the message that Jamie McIntyre wanted you to know right from the start and the message I share with you today so that we can all approach this journey with the desire and the will to succeed.

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