You, want to be rich right?  You want to make more money?  You want to be able to buy more of the things you want and live the lifestyle you want, right?

What if i told you, you were focused on the wrong thing.

You, probably like most people, are focused on getting "rich,"  But, if you really want have everything you want, you need to be focused on getting "wealthy."  This is a major distinction.

Most people measure their wealth by how much they make.  If they have a huge paycheck and make a lot of money, they think they are rich or wealthy.  Being wealthy is not about how much you make, but about how much you keep.

Wealth, simply put, is the amount of days you can live without having to work.  For example, if your bills are $5000/mo and you have $10,000 in the bank, you are 2 months' wealthy.  Most people that make a lot of money are not wealthy.  They are rich because they make a lot.  But, they also spend a lot.  In fact, if a lot of these people lost their primary source of income, they couldn't through a month at their level of lifestyle.

If you really want to have what you want, you need to change your focus from getting rich, to getting wealthy.  Part of that is understanding that getting a big W2 paycheck is the worst way to make your money because it is the highest taxed form of money.  The wealthy know this.  That is why Warren Buffett says he pays less taxes than his secretary - because on a percentage basis, he does.  His money is made from dividends, capital gains, and distributions from his businesses, which are all taxed at lower rates than the W2 income tax rates.  Remember, it's not how much you make, it's how much you keep that matters.

Additionally, the wealthy have their money work for them in the form of assets such as business ownership, real estate, and investments.  This helps to ensure that they remain wealthy and never outspend their ability to be wealthy.  For example, if you have 10 rental properties that pay you $1000/mo each after expenses and your personal monthly bills are $7500, you are effectively infinitely wealthy.

How about you?  Can you see the difference between being rich and being wealthy?  Can you think of a change you need to make in the way you approach money that will help you begin to build wealth?  Maybe you can set a goal to be so many days' or months' wealthy by a certain date.

Whatever you do, focus on being wealthy, not being rich!

Decisions. Decisions.  Our life is full them.  Everyday we make decisions in all areas of our lives, but every so often we have BIG decisions come to the table that we have to make.  

This can be a challenge.  Many times the big decisions can affect our lives, the lives or others, our family, our future, our career, and much more.  We go back and forth agonizing about what to do and the ramifications of our ultimate decision.  Doing this makes it even harder.

So, how do we go about making a big decision with logic and reason and ultimately confidence that we are making the right move?  Years ago, I read about a strategy that none other than Ben Franklin had developed for just such a situation.  

Ben wrote about it and said the following:

My way is to divide half a sheet of paper by a line into two columns; writing over the one Pro and over the other Con. Then during three or four days’ consideration, I put down under the different heads short hints of the different motives, that at different time occur to me, for or against the measure. When I have thus got them altogether in one view, I endeavor to estimate their respective weights; and where I find two, one on each side, that seem equal, I strike them both out. If I judge some two reasons con equal to some three reasons pro, I strike out five; and thus proceeding, I find where the balance lies; and if after a day or two of further consideration, nothing new that is of importance occurs on either side, I come to a determination accordingly.

The beauty of what Franklin came up with is it's simplicity.  You simply write down your pros and cons of the decision and give them a weight of importance.  The key is to give yourself a few days of doing it.  Sleep on it as they say.  Over the course of a few days, you'll have developed and settled on a pretty solid list.

At that point, you can see your pros and cons clearly and the decision will be become evident.  I have used this method for many years and it has proved to be very effective and allowed me to come to great decisions in the end.  Put it to work for you and see the difference it can make in your life!

For those of us with sight, we take "seeing" for granted.  But in reality, what most people don't know is that you don't see with your eyes.  Huh?  The first time someone explained how eyesight works to me, I was fascinated.  

We don't see with our eyes.  We see with our minds.  Our eyes are just the receptors that filter the information that our brain then takes and formulates into the world we see around us.  In fact, there a multitude of spectrum's of "sight."  We are actually wired to filter a tiny minute fraction.

The reason why makes sense.  We would have sensory overload.  We simply could not process everything our eyes could take in and feed our brain.  Therefore, our brain quickly filters out most everything to get the few things that matter for us to do what we need to do.  It focuses only on the most important things we need to see.

A great example is the famous Invisible Gorilla Experiment where people were asked to count how many times the people in white shirts passed a ball.  While all this is going on, a person in a gorilla suit comes out and stands in the middle of them, beats his chest and walks out.  When this was originally done, 50% of the people never saw the gorilla because their brains were focused on counting the times the basketball was passed.  We "see" with our minds.

Once you understand this, it can open up a lot for you.  It can cause you to look at things in entirely new ways.  It can cause you to question the way you see something and maybe see an opportunity that was never there.  Maybe, you can even see the future because you are not limited by being unaware that you see with your mind and your eyes are really just receptors for the information.

Armed with the knowledge, you can look at the world, you can look at business, you can look at people and have a better understanding of where things may go in the future and position yourself to take advantage. 

For example, I was recently in an Uber where I saw a fantastic new idea - a future for a lot of things.  A lot of Uber drivers will offer snacks or bottles of water on their own, but this Uber was different.  In the middle section between the two front seats, this Uber driver had a snack bar.  And the snack bar was connected to an app that you could download and have an account where you can purchase any item.   So, I checked it out and it's a cool new company that has basically turned Uber drivers into vending machines on the go.  But, why stop there?  What else could be offered through an Uber ride?  Maybe a company could offer pet treats or something else. 

The point is, most would just see this snack bar and think, cool idea.  Maybe even sign up for the app.  But, it is a window into the future of delivering goods and services if you know how to look for it.  You can see things differently, because you have started to open your mind up to what it can see and look for.

So, challenge what you see and look beyond it to see what else is there.  Who knows, maybe you will not only see, but be able to create the future.

Wait, what?  I should build a POSITIVE relationship with suffering??  Yes!

I know for a lot of people that doesn't make a lot of sense.  Who wants to embrace suffering in their life?  But, if you think about it.  Life is suffering.  It really depends on how you view the word "suffering" and the perception you have of what it means.  Suffering is part of everything you do.  When you work hard at the gym and break down your muscles to exhaustion, you are suffering.  When you push yourself to your limits of ability or mental capacity, you are engaging in a form of suffering.

And, of course, there is the type of suffering that brings real and true pain, such as an illness or death of a loved one that cannot be diminished.

We go through life with periods of suffering interrupted by great joy and success.  Usually, the joy and success is a lot shorter than the suffering and struggle we go through - but ask yourself - Is it worth it to go through the struggles, trials, suffering, and tribulation to reach those periods of joy and success?  I believe it is.  I believe that our ability to grow and persevere comes from the suffering we have to go through and like anything, the more experience you have with it, the more prepared you are to handle the inevitable bouts of suffering that come into your life.

A great example of this in my life was the news years ago that my wife and I could not have children naturally.  We are 10% of what doctors call unexplained.  Everything is healthy for us, but it just doesn't happen.  We suffered through this news only to grow as a couple and to find our daughter.  We may never have been the family we are without going through this multi-year struggle - and I could not imagine life any other way.  It was the suffering that lead us to a much more amazing life with an amazing kiddo that we love more than life itself.

So embrace suffering, because every time you overcome, you get stronger and it gets easier to overcome the next round and so on.  And in-between, you get to enjoy the fruits of your suffering - the amazing joy and success that life unfolds.

In 1519, Hernán Cortés led a large expedition consisting of 600 Spaniards and 11 boats to Mexico. The goal was to capture a magnificent treasure said to be held there. Once he arrived, Cortés destroyed his ships. The message was clear to his men - There is no turning back from this point. They accomplish their mission or they perish. What do you think happened?  With no exit strategy in place to save their lives, they rallied behind their leader as never before. And inside of two years, he succeeded in his conquest of the Aztec empire. 

Essentially, Hernán Cortés forced his men to go "All in."  Thankfully, these days, we don't have to make a decision between life and death, but every day we are faced with a decision as to whether we will live into our greatness or shy away from it.  

Most people, never get into the boat leaving toward their success, let alone think of burning it once they reach the shore.

Most people never even feel what it feels like to go "All in" - to commit to something so strongly that there is no option other than to win and succeed.  What if.?  What if you decided just once that you would live your life that way?  That you would commit yourself in a way you have never done before and never quit, stop, or allow yourself to be deterred in your mission to your goal (whatever it is).  What would happen?  Where would you or could you be?  

I bet you would take yourself to a completely new level in some area of your life.  The question is not "Can I do something?"  It's "Why the hell shouldn't I do it?"  If you want to truly succeed, and deep down you know what this is for you, you will have to "burn your boats" and go ALL IN.  If you give yourself any way out on your mission, you will tempted to take it when things get rough.  You cannot let this happen.

It's time to commit.  It's time to go ALL IN on your success and reach your potential.  Burn your metaphorical boats.  Never give up and never quit.