“To get rich, you have to be making money while you’re asleep.” – David Bailey
In every aspect of life, there are rules that we follow in order to have a fluid and constant life. Christians follow the 10 Commandments, Canadians follow the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and children follow the rules of their parents’ home.
Everywhere you go, there are rules. Building wealth also requires rules. Granted, there are different ways to build wealth, but these 10 Commandments of Growing Rich are fundamental to anyone who desires wealth.
Thou Shall Stay Away From Debt
I have spoke about staying away from debt in many posts. Debt is only good when it is for an investment property or a business. As a millennial, unless you have bought your own place, the main debts you probably have are student loans, your car, and/or credit card debt.
These are three of the most detrimental debts to any adult. By having debt such as these, you deter yourself from being able to invest as much as you possibly can, especially at a young age – where you don’t have many responsibilities (like a child or career).
The faster you eliminate or minimize your credit, the faster you can invest in stocks, real estate, bullion (gold, silver, etc.), or a/your business.
Thou Shall Seek Future Freedom Over Short-Term Fulfillment
“NOW NOW NOW” is what society and media frequently pushes on us. Buy a new car now! Get a mortgage you cannot afford now! Forget saving your money to invest, take a cruise around the world for $10,000 now!
This is what we see every day.
In order to build your wealth, you have to know how to put aside your immediate gratification in order to be financially comfortable in the future. The “future” is subjective, so you can be working towards being financially free in 5, 10, maybe 20 years.
Regardless, write down your goals and a descriptive way of getting there and put those short-term wants to the side. Satisfy all those wants (and more) in the future, when you can do them and buy them as many times as you want, without worrying about the cost.
Thou Shall Know How To Say No
At a young age, I was used to having a manager in whatever job I had. I had to say yes to most of what my managers required of me. At home, I listened to my parents (to the most part) and did what I was told. As I got older, I started to have my own mind and would make my own decisions.
I began to know what I wanted for my life and accordingly made decisions that either benefited me and my goals or my goals and others around me. As I have began to slowly make a name for myself, many offers and opportunities come across my inbox and phone line.
Due to the fact that I know who I am and what I want in my life, I can decline offers that don’t work for me or benefit me. When you have nothing, you only can say “yes”. When you have something, you can say no, because you know your worth. That does not mean you decline things all the time for ego, but you should know what will help you get to where you want from what will hold you back or be pointless.
But, Thou Shall Also Know How To Say Yes
No, I’m not going crazy and indecisive. The reason why you should know how to say yes is that when you are trying to build up yourself and your brand, you must know how to build relationships with people of importance. This means that you may have to say yes to the opportunities that are provided to you by people you truly want to work with as well as those you are indifferent to. You should not say yes to stupidity, but you should be open to blessings in different shapes.
Thou Shall Own Assets, Not Toys
Instead, buy gold, silver, quality stocks, prime real estate, land, books, and others of the like. All of these things require proper education, but these are things that can be understood in a matter of months of readings and research. Stop buying garbage that you use once and discard of, or clothing that costs hundreds of dollars but you can’t sell when needed.
Thou Shall Travel The World
This is not a commandment that you probably have a problem with (obviously). Who does not enjoy travelling?! The only difference is that you should travel to get two things: inspiration and connections.
I have been travelling since I was 6-months old and I still travel to this day. By travelling the world, I have made connections with many individuals who are advantageous to keep in contact with. Also, they are just cool people! Not all networking needs to be for self-gain.
The second reason I had mentioned was inspiration. I have been to many resorts around the world but I make sure to travel outside the compound to the poorer areas in order to see how others live their lives. I’m not going to lie, there have been times where I would just suddenly tear up seeing how other people live life.
If it doesn’t inspire you to start businesses that help stop issues or inspire you to catch up with other countries that are more advanced than you, at least you will be motivated to start a foundation or charity to help those less fortunate around the world.
Thou Shall Epically FAIL
This is one of my favorite commandments.The reason being is that by failing, you learn what NOT to do. When you win too often, when you eventually fail, it’ll hit you harder than how it would have hit you if you had failed before.
By failing, it also humbles you. When you are constantly winning in school, investing, business, etc., you may get a big head and think you are someone special. You are not and neither am I, we are just good at doing business.
Don’t plan to fail, but prepare to make mistakes and change route when things come up. Don’t think you are indestructible. Even a solid rock can be punctured by water at the right pressure.
Thou Shall Be Picky With Friends
Not everyone should be a friend. If you claim that you want to be rich, you cannot surround yourself with poor minded people. You should not feel bad about removing yourself from groups that are not where or working towards where you want to be.
Friends come and go. But bills? None of your friends will pay your bills every month. Friends won’t give you a million dollars to invest, but I bet you’ll work hard to get that million…
Choose your friends wisely, no matter who came first. That “no new friends” garbage is just that…garbage. Get yourself friends who are ambitious or more ambitious than you. You are who you hang around. Point blank period.
Thou Shall Become One’s Own Bank
In case you didn’t realize by now, most banks are not your friend, they are in a business, to make money. In Canada, we aren’t as bad, but in the United States, their paper bills are not worth a dime. The wealthy are buying gold and silver and becoming their own banks. The money that I get from work goes to a savings account, stocks, a little bit of cash, then I buy bullion (silver & gold).
Why?
For one, if I ever need money for anything, I can use my cash. But if silver and gold prices have gone up, I could grab one of my bars and sell them at the nearest dealership and get cold hard cash. Another thing to know is that keeping money in a bank is not advantageous anymore. If you do a little bit of research, you will know that there are countries around the world that no longer run on paper money but gold and silver.
The world understands that fiat currency is useless. Governments now have the capability to stop anyone from getting money from the bank when there is another economic crash. Yes, WHEN.
Aside from that, by being your own bank, you don’t have to worry about paying interest on credit or using money you do not have. When you physically see money coming out of your safe at home, you will be more strategic on what you spend it on. The Trump Organization recently took gold bullion as payment for a commercial lease property. Not cash, gold.
Once again, buy gold and silver. Don’t depend on fiat.
Thou Shall Be Indifferent To Money
When you start making money after not making any for a long time, you may start to act hyper and buy things you should not. Many rap artists buy a ton of jewelry, cars, and million dollar houses because just a few months ago, they could not even afford dinner.
You may not be as poor as they used to but there is still principle. When you start to make money from work, your business, or investments, you should work towards multiplying that profit, not spending it.
I had some problems in the beginning when I was making a little more money than usual. I was buying watches, buying friends food all the time, spending crazy amounts on clothes and trinkets. But then I looked at my investing accounts and saw how much I invested and made and how much was left in the account. I was shocked. I made so much but had nothing to show for it. Every since then, I vowed never to unload my profits ever again.
Now, when I make money or lose money, my feelings do not change. My focus is not to make money to spend immediately but rather to retire before I even turn 30. Therefore, I don’t even think about buying things that have no value to my life. I advise you to do the same thing. It will take time for you to get accustomed to being indifferent to money, but you will get there. And when you do, watch how your wealth multiplies.
Follow these 10 Commandments of Growing Rich and see how the game of life becomes different to you.
Until next time,
Live Long and Prosperous.
J.M.
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