The old financial model does not work for us anymore.
I mean, do we actually live in the same world that existed 10, 20, 30 years ago? To put it in perspective, let's look at the good ol' 1990s.
Aside from gadgets and fashion styles that slid in and out of trendiness, consider your daily lives for a moment.
How often do you go online to look something up? How frequently do you text? Do you use your cell phone more than your home phone? Do you even still have a home phone? What would your life be like without these tools? I know I really can't imagine life without my iPhone, iPad, iMac, texting, internet and all the things that help me function on a daily basis.
(My staff thinks I have an Apple addiction, but I'm pretty sure it's just jealousy.
) But in 1990, the World Wide Web was just being invented.
As was eBay, Google and Yahoo.
Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace weren't even thoughts in someone's heads yet.
So, no one sat around playing Mafia Wars and updating the world to the minute details of their lives.
This was before the era of Dot Com Millionaires and online dating, shopping, and well...
online anything! This is a new world.
Twenty years ago we were still forming the technology to allow us to dial up on our huge, bulky computers, now we walk around with cell phones that can do everything but wash our car.
And I'm pretty sure that will be next.
So, if so much has changed, why would the way we handle our money be the same? The fact is, money is a concept, not an actual, static, unchanging thing.
Paper money is no longer backed dollar for dollar by gold in the treasury.
President Richard Nixon did away without that in 1971, forever changing the way our economy works.
It has lost any semblance of real value.
It's all in the perception.
(And to be honest, it always has been, even when backed by gold.
I mean, come on, who initially decided that some gold shiny bits in the dirt would suddenly be valuable enough to exchange for something you can actually eat, wear or live in?) Money means something because we created a social contract to allow it to mean something, and we've all more or less agreed on what it can be exchanged for.
(Some of us might feel the less part of this statement if you're being gauged by credit cards and bank fees and are now branded a leper because of your credit score, but you get the idea.
) It could just as well have been beads, or marbles or shark teeth.
Though admittedly shark teeth might pose other problems that our paper currency has avoided altogether.
But hey, maybe we'd be more careful with what we spend if we knew we'd have to play tooth fairy to the great whites to pay for those latest, greatest, must have apps.
I'm not suggesting you throw all the old wisdom out.
There's still a lot to be said for having a 90 day buffer and organizing your budget to live below your means, rather than way above your means, which is where most of us have been.
Life happens and you need to have some instant cash to handle those rainy days, or you'll end up flooded with bills you can't pay and swimming in out of control credit card debt.
But whoever told you to wait until you have the savings, the 401K, the IRA, and the all the credit cards paid off in order to start investing is just plain wrong.
That old school philosophy is just not going to get you anywhere but broke and worse, enslaved to debt.
Our current society does not really prepare people for a financial education.
Our universities are marvelous at teaching Kant and Shakespeare.
You can learn a ton about the underwater marine world or the outer regions of space.
But money? Not so much.
It's a sad commentary on our world that we know so little about something that affects our lives so deeply.
The rich understand money.
They use money, make it work for them, and play the game to get ahead.
The poor and middle class pay for this ignorance with debt and stress.
It's time for the everyday Joe and Jane to do away with the old notion that going to college, buying a house, saving, working hard and investing in your companies retirement package will get you ahead in life.
It doesn't.
It never did and it certainly never will.
It's a system designed to keep the rich rich, and the poor, well, you know.
It's time to buck the system and recognize that there are better ways of creating wealth.
Ways that actually work.
Real estate being one of the biggest.
It's time to do away with the excuses.
"I can't afford it.
" "I don't have a down payment.
" "My credit is beyond repair.
" "I have a foreclosure, no one would ever lend to me.
" "I don't know anything about investing.
" There are ways around all of these objections.
Systems out there that can enable you to invest now, just as you are.
It's time to get excited about your life again! To recognize that there is a very real, doable way for you to catapult yourself out of debt and into a life with real wealth.
It's time to think outside the box, or the bun or whatever.
In fact, throw the box out entirely and just start thinking for yourself.
And let's come up with some creative ways to bypass the standard objections most people have for investing and building wealth.
Look, there's a reason Warren Buffet is one of the richest men on the planet.
He doesn't think like you.
He's a contrarian investor who does the opposite of you.
Wouldn't you like to be more like him? Right now Warren Buffet isn't selling.
He's buying.
The problem is you can't buy because you don't have the money or the credit.
Or, quite simply put, you don't have the means.
Banks aren't lending to you.
You're not ready to take advantage of this economy.
That's why you have to be open to alternative ways of investing.
Why you have to find experts who can help you.
Seriously! I know this sounds like a fairy tale, but I'm here to tell you that you can have that happily ever after you always dreamed of.
No, I'm not going to wave a magic wand and zap your problems away, but I am going to be that unreasonable friend that pushes you out of your comfort zone and tells you to stop making excuses and start making something happen with your life.
Now is the best time in our lifetime, to invest.
Here's the key though.
You've got to actually start! You can't change the direction a ship is headed if it's dead in the water.
In the same way, we can't change the trajectory of your life if you're not moving in any direction.
(Sinking in debt does not actually qualify as a direction, BTW) If you want to see something change in your present circumstance, then you have to change.
You have to change how you think about investing, how you prioritize your money, and how you think about the strategy needed to build wealth.
The longer you resist, the longer you live in the past, the longer it's going to be before you see anything actually change in your life.
But if you're ready to make some changes, then there are people out there who can help you in ways you never even imagined.
I mean, do we actually live in the same world that existed 10, 20, 30 years ago? To put it in perspective, let's look at the good ol' 1990s.
Aside from gadgets and fashion styles that slid in and out of trendiness, consider your daily lives for a moment.
How often do you go online to look something up? How frequently do you text? Do you use your cell phone more than your home phone? Do you even still have a home phone? What would your life be like without these tools? I know I really can't imagine life without my iPhone, iPad, iMac, texting, internet and all the things that help me function on a daily basis.
(My staff thinks I have an Apple addiction, but I'm pretty sure it's just jealousy.
) But in 1990, the World Wide Web was just being invented.
As was eBay, Google and Yahoo.
Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace weren't even thoughts in someone's heads yet.
So, no one sat around playing Mafia Wars and updating the world to the minute details of their lives.
This was before the era of Dot Com Millionaires and online dating, shopping, and well...
online anything! This is a new world.
Twenty years ago we were still forming the technology to allow us to dial up on our huge, bulky computers, now we walk around with cell phones that can do everything but wash our car.
And I'm pretty sure that will be next.
So, if so much has changed, why would the way we handle our money be the same? The fact is, money is a concept, not an actual, static, unchanging thing.
Paper money is no longer backed dollar for dollar by gold in the treasury.
President Richard Nixon did away without that in 1971, forever changing the way our economy works.
It has lost any semblance of real value.
It's all in the perception.
(And to be honest, it always has been, even when backed by gold.
I mean, come on, who initially decided that some gold shiny bits in the dirt would suddenly be valuable enough to exchange for something you can actually eat, wear or live in?) Money means something because we created a social contract to allow it to mean something, and we've all more or less agreed on what it can be exchanged for.
(Some of us might feel the less part of this statement if you're being gauged by credit cards and bank fees and are now branded a leper because of your credit score, but you get the idea.
) It could just as well have been beads, or marbles or shark teeth.
Though admittedly shark teeth might pose other problems that our paper currency has avoided altogether.
But hey, maybe we'd be more careful with what we spend if we knew we'd have to play tooth fairy to the great whites to pay for those latest, greatest, must have apps.
I'm not suggesting you throw all the old wisdom out.
There's still a lot to be said for having a 90 day buffer and organizing your budget to live below your means, rather than way above your means, which is where most of us have been.
Life happens and you need to have some instant cash to handle those rainy days, or you'll end up flooded with bills you can't pay and swimming in out of control credit card debt.
But whoever told you to wait until you have the savings, the 401K, the IRA, and the all the credit cards paid off in order to start investing is just plain wrong.
That old school philosophy is just not going to get you anywhere but broke and worse, enslaved to debt.
Our current society does not really prepare people for a financial education.
Our universities are marvelous at teaching Kant and Shakespeare.
You can learn a ton about the underwater marine world or the outer regions of space.
But money? Not so much.
It's a sad commentary on our world that we know so little about something that affects our lives so deeply.
The rich understand money.
They use money, make it work for them, and play the game to get ahead.
The poor and middle class pay for this ignorance with debt and stress.
It's time for the everyday Joe and Jane to do away with the old notion that going to college, buying a house, saving, working hard and investing in your companies retirement package will get you ahead in life.
It doesn't.
It never did and it certainly never will.
It's a system designed to keep the rich rich, and the poor, well, you know.
It's time to buck the system and recognize that there are better ways of creating wealth.
Ways that actually work.
Real estate being one of the biggest.
It's time to do away with the excuses.
"I can't afford it.
" "I don't have a down payment.
" "My credit is beyond repair.
" "I have a foreclosure, no one would ever lend to me.
" "I don't know anything about investing.
" There are ways around all of these objections.
Systems out there that can enable you to invest now, just as you are.
It's time to get excited about your life again! To recognize that there is a very real, doable way for you to catapult yourself out of debt and into a life with real wealth.
It's time to think outside the box, or the bun or whatever.
In fact, throw the box out entirely and just start thinking for yourself.
And let's come up with some creative ways to bypass the standard objections most people have for investing and building wealth.
Look, there's a reason Warren Buffet is one of the richest men on the planet.
He doesn't think like you.
He's a contrarian investor who does the opposite of you.
Wouldn't you like to be more like him? Right now Warren Buffet isn't selling.
He's buying.
The problem is you can't buy because you don't have the money or the credit.
Or, quite simply put, you don't have the means.
Banks aren't lending to you.
You're not ready to take advantage of this economy.
That's why you have to be open to alternative ways of investing.
Why you have to find experts who can help you.
Seriously! I know this sounds like a fairy tale, but I'm here to tell you that you can have that happily ever after you always dreamed of.
No, I'm not going to wave a magic wand and zap your problems away, but I am going to be that unreasonable friend that pushes you out of your comfort zone and tells you to stop making excuses and start making something happen with your life.
Now is the best time in our lifetime, to invest.
Here's the key though.
You've got to actually start! You can't change the direction a ship is headed if it's dead in the water.
In the same way, we can't change the trajectory of your life if you're not moving in any direction.
(Sinking in debt does not actually qualify as a direction, BTW) If you want to see something change in your present circumstance, then you have to change.
You have to change how you think about investing, how you prioritize your money, and how you think about the strategy needed to build wealth.
The longer you resist, the longer you live in the past, the longer it's going to be before you see anything actually change in your life.
But if you're ready to make some changes, then there are people out there who can help you in ways you never even imagined.
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