We all have the concept of “live within your means” or “save a penny is earning a penny” engrained deeply in our brains by the time we are 10-years old…and it doesn’t stop there.

Tell me if you have NOT heard the advice “Save 10% of everything you earn” or “Pay yourself first?”

Then we have the investment community, who you have to realize spend Billions and Billions of dollars to get your money and then make a percentage on that money with complexity (NOTE:  whenever you see complexity for purpose – run fast!)

I’m not here to say spend like a drunken sailor, but what about putting time and effort into yourself and your ability to earn more money?

Why go through life accepting the fact that you are everything you are going to be at 18, 30, or even 50 and that you have reached your maximum earning potential?

By focusing entirely on “Saving Money” and controlling your spending you are as much as admitting that you have given up increasing your ability to earn more money (other than the odd increase in your paycheck that will not even keep up with the cost of inflation)

It is exactly this mentality that prevents people from realizing their true potential, causes them to wilt emotionally and creatively, causes incredible stress and literally results in many people going BROKE because they are losing the game to inflation and paying a few percentage points to advisors that slowly erodes their true wealth.

Ready For The Shock?

Ok, that sets the stage for the type of contrarian thinking that James Altucher will lay on you about spending less time on saving and controlling spending while spending more time on improving yourself and your ability to generate income.

“You get more money in the bank by making more money, not by saving” – that’s just one his altruisms…and there are more like:

  • how to sell (both in a presentation and via copywriting)
  • how to negotiate (which means win-win, not war)
  • creativity (take out a pad, write down a list of ideas, every day)
  • leadership (give more to others than you expect back for yourself)
  • networking (a corollary of leadership)
  • how to live by themes instead of goals (goals will break your heart)
  • reinvention (which will happen repeatedly throughout a life)
  • idea sex (get good at coming up with ideas. Then combine them. Master the intersection)
  • the 1% rule (every week try to get better 1% physically, emotionally, mentally)
  • “the google rule” – always send people to the best resource, even if it’s a competitor. The benefit to you comes back tenfold
  • give constantly to the people in your network. The value of your network increase linearly if you get to know more people but EXPONENTIALLY if the people you know, get to know and help each other.
  • how to fail so that a failure turns into a beginning

You can read his entire list over at his blog here.

What Does This Mean To You?

Again, I don’t see this as a pure black and white issue.

You have to be responsible with your spending, understand how to invest your money so you don’t lose it and hopefully make a few points at the end of the day (but mainly don’t lose it to inflation, the government or to some scam)

Fact is though that very few people make enough money to actually save and put away enough to allow them to retire or to come remotely close to being wealthy, and the relative wage to inflation ration has only gotten worse over the last decade.

So, relying on a salary as a long-term method of surviving (let alone becoming rich) is much more risky today than it was in the past.

What Should You Do Then?

On the other hand, you should be making it a priority each day to be improving yourself, your confidence, your skills, your ability, your network so that you can offer more value to your market, earn more money and take full control of your financial, creative and emotional situation.

For many people, this is much easier said than done.

There are fundamental beliefs about being rich, making money, selling, networking their own self perception that must be modified in addition to making the conscious decision to become a higher income earner.

There is also self-discipline, determination, a good attitude and lots of self esteem involved in actually getting there.

But folks, James is 100% correct – the wealthiest individuals don’t get to be wealthy by making an average salary and handing that over to an adviser…it just doesn’t happen that way.

But what about Warren Buffet I hear you say?

Ah, but that just proves the point.

Warren Buffet discovered that finding companies with massive potential right at their lowest point is an incredible way to make money…which is just what he did with the insurance industry first, and then many others.

3 Ways To Prepare For Wealth Today…

To break out of the “saving-only” mentality, here are 3 ways you can begin to prepare yourself to make more money and become wealthier right away.

1. Improve Yourself Each Day

I don’t mean this to sound preachy or motivational but rather a discipline you want to apply to your life each day.

Honestly, there is no better investment of your time than in self improvement.  You put 8-10 hours into improving your company barely sharing in future profits, not knowing if your job will even be there tomorrow…the least you can do is put 1-hour into your own development that nobody can take from you and will continue to pay you dividends for years to come

Here are some areas you should be working on each day:

  • Managing stress
  • Setting direction and objectives for your life
  • Improving your self confidence
  • Blasting away negative thoughts replacing them with positive thoughts and beliefs aligned with your direction
  • Learning to network
  • Grounding yourself with a strong base of ethics, beliefs and honesty (this will serve as a foundation for external behavior and relationships)
  • Learning basic human psychology such as emotions, consumer behavior, influence, persuasion, etc…
  • Communication skills, learning who you are and how you can best communicate with the outside world

2. Plan and Start Your Own Business

Learning the fundamentals of your own business from the basic context of business models, operations, market research, target marketing, product/service creation, marketing and selling will serve you very well in allowing you to break through the artificial ceilings that many jobs put in place.

In other words, learn how to do business yourself and you will have at your fingertips the ultimate vehicle for wealth generation, control over your own finances, energy and creativity and leverage – this will allow you to put more money in your bank account and stop worrying about every little expense (as the financial guru’s would have you believe is the way to wealth)

We have started and operate many businesses of our own and share those experiences and tips with others who want to follow in our footsteps over at Information Marketer’sZone – a good place to get started on quickly learning the fundamentals of starting your own online business and begin creating your own income stream that will continually grow over time.

3. Contribute, Add Value And Become A Leader

By constantly improving yourself and understanding the role of business in your new commitment to create added wealth and security in your life you can cap it all off by structuring the way you live your life away from the short-term, selfish led motivation toward a longer-term, “marathon”, ongoing value contribution point of view which will surround you in an environment of trust, credibility, desire, empathy and influence – the key attributes of a true leader.

Without adjusting your life to be one of constant focus on value and contribution you will struggle to fully improve, under-perform in your business and live a life unfulfilled lacking the true inner satisfaction and power of taking your place in society.

In other words, skip step 3 and step 1 and step 2 will be far less effective.

This is why you see the most exceptional businesses and entrepreneurs becoming philanthropists, taking up a cause, giving back to their marketplace and moving from business person or entrepreneur to “leader” and then “LEADER”

Your Take?

I understand this concept of moving from traditional thoughts around becoming financially secure by saving, being responsible, living within your means and the like toward worrying less about these aspects and more about how you will increase your own value to the marketplace and, in exchange, make more money is the real way to financial stability and wealth.

Yet, this has exactly been my experience in life…living a life earning well below your potential income and then trying to achieve some level of security by pinching pennies is a recipe for unhappiness and futility.  On the other hand, the pursuit of constant improvement, adding value to markets and those around you and becoming a better person along the way is truly living life up to its true potential.

Do you see it that way?

At what point are you in your life?   Are you caught in the old belief system or are you in growth mode?