The Millionaire's Ten Commandments

The following are 10 Commandments undersood and practiced by the wealthy and those on their way to becoming millionaires...


1. GIVE THANKS


2. BE ECSTATIC


3. BE GENEROUS


4. FEEL WEALTHY


5. ACT SUCCESSFULLY


6. GET INVOLVED


7. SPEND $$$ WISELY


8. BE MOTIVATED


9. BE COMMITTED


10. TOTAL HONESTY




By: Jay C. Polmar, Ph.D.

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Extraordinary Steps to Personal Wealth

In an era of wealth and opportunity, and in an age of unlimited freedom, attaining wealth is primarily a matter of choice and determination. 


The following are suggestions for rapidly increasing your personal income and wealth.


1. Develop a healthy awareness of money.  
Most of us either ignore our cash flow and don’t have a budget, or we think of money as a "problem".  Instead, begin thinking of it as energy, as a resource and as a tool to be managed and used wisely.

2. Develop a healthy desire for money.  
Money is neither evil nor the source of happiness.  It is a tool that can be used well or badly, but most importantly it can be used to achieve many of life’s dreams and priorities.  Having more of it increases your choices, and your responsibility. 

3. Develop a healthy personal foundation.  
It is difficult to attract or keep money if your life is in chaos.  To achieve significant wealth, pay attention to your attitude, your relationships, your values and your integrity.  Money tends to flow to those who are prepared to handle it well.

4. Resolve ALL addictions.  
Substance abuse will obviously undermine any real ability to attract and manage large amounts of money, but other addictions are equally dangerous.  Addictions to shopping, drama and excitement, to power or sex or a need to have the newest gadget will all destroy freedom of choice, and your ability to handle money responsibly. 

5. Spend less than you make.  
An obvious point that most of us ignore.  Have and use a budget, track your cash flow, decide what you need compared to what you want.  Unless you use credit cards as a tool to monitor your spending, avoid using them at all.  If you’re living on credit, juggling one card against another, get professional help!

6. Save a significant amount.  
Most experts recommend paying yourself first and saving anywhere from 5% to 20% of your income.   The amount or percentage that you save is probably not as important as the principle.  If at first you only save 1%, make that deposit every single week, do it without fail, and congratulate yourself!  Even 1% is a great beginning!

7. Cut your spending by 25%.  
That’s a huge amount!  For most of us, it’s also entirely possible.  Take your lunch, buy less junk, rent a movie instead of going to the theater, make a picnic instead of dinner at a restaurant, re-cycle and repair rather than throwing things away and buying new.   Live cheaper, simpler and closer to the earth.

8. Learn the principles of investing.  
Most community colleges have courses on investing in stocks, real estate, commercial property and even collectibles.  Pick your preference, study hard, buy smart, and let your money work for you rather than you always working for money.  But, never try to get rich quick!  We’re talking about investing, not speculating. 

9. Develop long-term passive income.  
Whether this is interest from bonds, profits from a business, or residuals from your last TV commercial, develop assets that will generate positive cash flow for years to come, whether you are working or not.  Rental property has been a favorite, but so are stocks and mutual funds.

10. Develop wealth consciousness!  
This is a conscious, specific desire to be aware of money, to have money, and to use money to reflect your values and your priorities.  Some of us virtually choose poverty because of our refusal to take responsibility for how we handle money.  Others, live as misers and never use money to expand their horizons and develop their lives.  You can decide to have a healthy, exciting and profitable relationship with money.  Choose wisely.  Start today!


Source: Resources for Success! - Dr.Philip E. Humbert

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Remarkable Steps to Becoming a Millionaire

There is perhaps no more important decision than to take charge of your own financial future. 
We live in a world of opportunity, and yet most people are buried in credit card and other debt. 

Nevertheless, you can become as financially independent as you wish to be.  


Here are the Top 10 keys to your financial success:

1. Decide to be financially successful.   This is different than wishing, hoping, wanting or even desiring to be rich.   Make a commitment that this is going to happen!  Financial independence is not an accident or matter of luck, and it usually requires some inconvenience.  Have you decided to achieve this goal?


2. Understand how money works.   Most of never studied finance or investing in school.  Most of were never even taught to balance a checkbook!  To master anything, you have to understand it.   Read.  Study what successful people do.  Take classes.


3. Master your relationship with money.   Some of us spend for excitement, to show off, to prove we can.  Some of us are addicted to spending, and some of us are just careless about it.  Whatever your relationship with money, understand it and develop a relationship of respect, appreciation and gratitude.  Use your money, rather than allowing it to run your life.


4. Set specific goals.  They should be challenging, but not unbelievable, just out of reach but not out of sight.   Challenge yourself to be out of debt by a specific date.  Make a commitment to saving an exact amount each month.


5. Develop a budget.  A budget is a set of dreams and aspirations.  It's how you really, really want to use money to benefit your family and run your life.  Budget to buy the things you really want, and to eliminate the "impulses", the toys that waste too much of our income.  A budget is a map to your destination.  Have one and use it!


6. Reduce spending.  Yes, this comes after making a budget, because when you begin getting control of your money (rather than the other way around) you have powerful new reasons to reduce expenses.  Most self-made millionaires live far below their means!  You should to.


7. Begin investing.  Most of us spend or speculate.  Both are roads to disaster!  Invest in things you understand.  Invest cautiously, wisely, and regularly.  The objective is not to "make a killing", but to get rich over time.  Know and obey the distinction between gambling, and putting your money to work for you.


8. Increase assets.  Most people try to increase their income, and that's a mistake.  Making more money means paying more taxes.  It takes time and hard work.  And, when wealth arrives in the form of cash, it's easier to spend.  Millionaires buy stocks and buildings, they invest in assets that will make them rich – and that are hard to spend on a whim!


9. Reduce taxes.  Most Americans pay more in taxes than for food, clothing and shelter combined!  It is your largest expense!  The poor and middle class don't realize how much they pay because it's deducted from their pay check.  The wealthy know there are legal and appropriate ways to shelter income, to invest in socially-responsible ways, and that the tax code encourages this.  Learn the tax laws and use them for your benefit!  (Yes, it's the most boring reading you'll ever do, and worth it!)


10. Use your wealth wisely.  Someone once said, "The reason most of us aren't rich is that we'd spend it all on ourselves."  Give.  Share.  Help others.  When you use money to make a difference, to have a positive impact, you get the chance to do more.  Being greedy and selfish will not draw money to you.  Investing in your community, will!

Source: Resources for Success! - Dr.Philip E. Humbert

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Secrets of Getting Rich!

As many people have observed, "Success leaves clues." If you want to achieve extraordinary success in the coming year, study the experts, do what they do, and modify their techniques to suit your particular situation. It's easy!


Well, maybe not easy, but there are basic fundamentals. In the belief that we all need to be reminded of them regularly, here are some of the secrets that have helped me and my clients over the years:


1. Focus on values.  I've known people who made some money, but I've never known anyone who got rich without examining their own values, priorities and beliefs. Start by writing down a list of things you value, things you believe, what you want, and what you plan to do with this incredible life you have. Start with your values.


2. Get a life.  Before you can handle great wealth, you must make room for it. This is the old, "if you build it, they will come" model. Trying to squeeze success, wealth, fame or fortune into a small life won't work. Create a life first; the lifestyle of your dreams will follow.


3.  Eliminate clutter.  Trying to create success and achieve wealth while your life's a mess won't work. Success requires clear priorities and a passionate commitment. Simplify your life. Eliminate the excuses. Clean up everything that distracts you from reaching your most important goals.


4. Specify your results.  Nobody can hit a target they can't see. Define your outcomes and set clear, achievable results in advance. Know what "success" looks like! Have measurable, specific outcomes and determine that you will achieve them!


5. Burn your ships.  There's an ancient story about a Greek general who landed his troops on an enemy shore, then burned his ships. He wanted to make it very clear: Retreat and failure were not an option! Leave no room for failure.


6. Put in more than you take out.  No one will pay you more than your services are worth! Get clear about that! You just can't fool people very long. Your services and your results must be far more valuable than the small fee you charge. Some people will rip you off; the rest will make you rich!


7.  Live below your means.  Rich people know this. Wealth is accumulated, re-invested, used wisely and given away. It is never spent! Let the millionaire athletes and folks who win lotteries buy the fancy cars and flashy jewelry. If you want to achieve great wealth, live simply, invest wisely, enjoy it all!


8. Get rich slowly.  The key to great wealth is to minimize income, while maximizing your assets. Income is taxed. Income gets spent -- think about all the cars, boats, diamonds and houses people with huge incomes like to buy! Investing in assets that are hard to spend (buildings, stocks and bonds, collectible art, etc) creates wealth that is not taxed, and isn't spent on a casual impulse.


9. Pay lots of taxes.  No, I'm not talking about paying more than you owe, but pay every cent the law requires. Rich folks don't haggle over nickels and dimes, they invest to make millions! If you can legally avoid taxes, do so! Use the law to your advantage when you can. But juggling the books to hide income or save a few bucks, wastes your time, wastes your energy, creates fear of getting caught, and makes you cheap. Don't do it!


10.  Give it away.  You can't take it with you when you die, and money is not attracted to the selfish, the miserly or the mean. If you would attract money to your life, be clear about what you want to do with it. Contribute to charities that will use it for good. Make the world a better, richer place and you'll create wealth that will last for generations to come. Your children will thank you!

Source: Resources for Success! -  Dr.Philip E. Humbert

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3 SECRETS TO BUILDING A GREAT FORTUNE

For you nascent titans of industry out there who want to build fortunes that will serve as an admission ticket to the Forbes list, we've amassed some points that may help in your quest. For the rest of you, we thought it might be interesting to read now that the PowerBall Jackpot has reached $300,000,000.

1. Establish or acquire a business that generates astronomical returns on equity

The surest way to building an enormous fortune is to start or acquire a business that has three characteristics. First, it generates high returns on equity. Second, it is scalable; that means management can continue expanding easily such as McDonald or Wal-Mart's cookie-cutter model. Finally, the enterprise needs to boast endurable competitive advantages of some sort (what Warren Buffett calls "franchise value.") This can take the form of a regulated or de facto monopoly such as a town with a single newspaper back in the mid-twentieth century, patent protection on a key drug or formula, brand name such as Coca-Cola, or a cultural archetype such as Tiffany & Company.

Many of the greatest businesses on Wall Street and owned by private equity firms today were started in just this manner. Think Microsoft, Apple, Wal-Mart, Target, The Limited, Dell, Home Depot, Yankee Candle, The Bank of Granite, and CitiBank. The methods were different; some were retailers started by entrepreneurs while others were companies taken over by intelligent financial engineers who knew how to structure a business. They provided a vehicle that allowed them to earn more money than their labor alone could. That is the key. 

You cannot build a respectable fortune if you are reliant upon your own work to generate income. The owner of a chain of banks is collecting interest income as he has Christmas dinner with his family or goes fishing. Compare that to a hard-working hotel maid who must show up and scrub toilets to support her family.

The single most important factor when selecting a business is the return on equity capital. Over the long run, even if you were to pick up stocks or companies for far less than they were worth, it's going to be excessively hard to profit more than the long-term rate earned on shareholders' equity. For information on the components that comprise ROE, read about the DuPont analysis and how you can apply it in your own life or business.

2. Don't Dilute Your Equity Position

Sam Walton's family owned over 40% of Wal-Mart. In the early years, Bill Gate had around 44% of Microsoft before he began selling off shares for his foundation and diversification. Warren Buffett owns over 30% of Berkshire Hathaway. Notice a pattern? In order to build a truly epic fortune, it requires that you own as much of the company as possible. Many times, that means not diluting shares through printing more certificates for overpriced acquisitions.

Why are so few people able to do this? Growing a business takes capital. If you're not already wealthy, the only way to avoid issuing stock is to borrow so that debt makes up a large part of the capitalization structure, or own a company that allows you to use other people's money such as an insurance company which generates float from policyholders that is invested in stocks, bonds, and other assets.

3. Take Advantage of Favorable Tax Law

One way to build your wealth is to ensure that you keep as much money as possible. This includes working with ethical and intelligent financial advisers and certified public accountants that can help you structure your affairs so that you have more money compounding for you and your shareholders in the long run.

Source: Joshua Kennon, About.com Guide

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THE FOUR WAYS TO MAKE MONEY

Understanding the Basics of Generating Income So Your Investments Can Grow

According to research, only 10% of millionaires inherited their money. The other 90% went out and made it. How did they do it? In this article, we’ll discuss the four types of income that are the foundation of all earnings, unless you’re lucky enough to be born with a spendthrift trust fund. By understanding how money is made, you can better think about ways to increase what you are earning.

#1. Money Made Selling Your Time

This is the source of income that the middle and lower classes consider the most important. It is the money you receive for selling your time to an employer. It is often represented as salary or wages. You’ll often hear well-intentioned parents telling their children to find a “good job”, preferably one “with benefits”.

The rate you receive for your time depends on how rare and in demand your skills are to society. A gifted brain surgeon, for instance, can charge millions of dollars per year because there simply aren’t a lot of men or women who can do the job. Someone who pushes carts at a discount retailer earns less not because they are any less intrinsically valuable as a person, but because virtually anyone in good health can push a cart, causing a huge supply of potential workers to drive down wages.

To earn more money, you have to Invest in Yourself and improve the rate you can charge, work more hours, or a combination of the two. This type of income is the most tyrannical form of earning a living because you only generate money when you are actively laboring. A brilliant lawyer may earn millions of dollars a year, but he can’t continue to live off legal fees if he isn’t working. That may be fine if you love your job, but for most people, there are other things they’d rather be doing.

#2. Interest Income on Money Lent

This type of income comes from money borrowers pay you to “rent” your capital (the term capital refers to money you’ve set aside for investment purposes; you’ll hear it used a lot on Wall Street). When you buy a certificate of deposit at a bank, for instance, you are lending money to the bank in exchange for a predetermined rate of return, typically a few percentage points per year. The bank takes the money it "rents" from you and lends it out at a higher rate, pocketing the difference. (For those of you who are curious, this is why the yield curve is so important. It is the relationship between short-term and long-term rates. The steeper the yield curve, the more money your bank can make on that certificate of deposit or savings account you have with them.)

An example of interest income: My grandmother lends money to people who want to buy a house but who have bad credit and are unable to get a mortgage through traditional channels. They buy a property and she loans them the money to fund the purchase, charging 13% interest. For a typical $150,000 loan, she will receive $19,500 per year in interest income, or $1,625 per month. In essence, her money is going out and working for her.

#3. Dividend Income from Profits on Businesses Owned

This represents your share of the profits of a company in which you have bought an investment. If you own 50% of a lemonade stand and the company had sales of $1,000 with costs of $500 for $500 in remaining profit, your share of those profits would be $250. That money is paid out to you as your “cut” of the earnings. A good investment is one in which the company earns more year after year, increasing the amount of cash that is sent to you on a regular basis.

Just like interest income, the essence of dividend income is that your money is going out and working for you. There are some forms of labor, however, that can be included in this category. 

A salesman who earns commissions on recurring orders with little or no work is, in effect, running a business. So, too, is the man who registers a new patent and earns royalties on it or a songwriter who earns money when a recording star choosing his or her song for a new single. They are generating profits from the recurring “sale” of their idea or property, making it no different than Wal-Mart or Target selling laundry detergent.

An example of dividend income: My grandmother also owns some rental properties. She buys real estate and then charges the tenants money to live in her houses. In these cases, her rental business is generating profit equal to the total rent she receives less any costs, such as maintenance and upgrades on the properties. At the end of the year when she takes the money out of the business, those profits represent dividend income.

For a more advanced understanding of dividends, read All About Dividends. It will explain literally everything you could ever need to know about dividends, what they are, how they are paid, and much, much more.

#4. Capital Gains Income

This type of income is generated when you buy an investment or asset for one price and sell it for another, higher price, making a profit. Going back to our example of a lemonade stand, if you bought your 50% stake in the business for $2,000 and sold it for $5,000, the $3,000 difference would represent your capital gain.

It doesn’t matter if you are talking about houses, rare paintings, diamonds, fountain pens, businesses, furniture, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or unopened mint condition Barbie dolls, if you buy it at one price and sell it at another, the profit that results is known as a capital gain (if you lost money on the transaction, it’s known as a capital loss). In recent years, many Americans found their standard of living artificially inflated during the housing boom because the capital gains that resulted from their homes appreciating in value was a source of income that they thought would continue indefinitely.

Going back to my grandmother, if she were to sell one of the rental houses she bought for $80,000 to a buyer who was willing to pay $120,000, then the $40,000 difference represents her capital gain.

As your portfolio (a word used to describe all of the assets you own) grows, you will find yourself earning all four types of investment income. 

Nevertheless, the secret to true financial independence is to work diligently to build a collection of “cash generators” that bring in huge amounts of the latter three types of investment income – interest, dividend, and capital gains.

The reasons are several and include:

* Money made selling your time (salary and wages) is often taxed at far higher rates than the other types of income. The reality is, if you can make $5,000 in dividend income, you are likely to pay only $750 in taxes, whereas if you were a self-employed plumber and went out and earned $5,000 through hard work, after payroll taxes, Federal taxes, State taxes, and other charges, you would likely end up paying more than $2,000.

* There are only twenty-four hours in a day. Thus, you can only work so many hours. At some point, it becomes physically impossible to sell more of your time because, well, you ran out of time! You can always increase the rate you earn by developing rarer skills that are in high demand, as we already discussed. With interest, dividend, and capital gains, there are virtually no limits to how much you can earn. If each year, you pile your money back into growing these sources, you can find yourself earning millions of dollars each year a few decades from now.

Source: Joshua Kennon, About.com Guide

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7 RULES OF WEALTH BUILDING

Practical Keys to Amassing Investment Capital

Most parents want to teach their children responsibility - how to become self sufficient and succeed in life (after all, no one plans on raising a dead beat). However, very few actually accomplish this task. Why? Because, as parents, we are limited to the experiences our parents passed on to us; the antiquated notion that "responsibility" is simply getting a job, saving a little money, and maybe purchasing a car or some equally important item. Hopefully these seven rules will open your eyes and help you teach your children to avoid the traps that have stolen financial success from so many people.

Wealth Building Rule 1: Put Off Marriage

Your biggest obstacle to attaining wealth is YOU. Too often, people live their lives in a manner that is not conducive to creating riches and then get frustrated at "the system" when they only really have themselves to blame.

One of the most important financial decisions you will ever make is marriage (more specifically who you marry and when). By putting off the walk down the aisle for a few years, you can save a decade worth of frustration. Your first goal should be to become financially independent, with little or no debt, and have your investments in place. Once you have these three things, your odds of success are drastically improved by beginning your journey on a level playing field (after all, the number-one reason for divorce is financial trouble).

Wealth Building Rule 2: Debt is a Disease

With a few notable exceptions, debt is a form of bondage; a disease that enslaves the borrower. A few years ago, there was a young lady attending college who shot herself because she couldn't pay back $2,300 in credit card debt. Although an extreme example, it is a testament to the power money has over peoples' lives. Imagine your life without owing anyone anything; your car, your house, your education, all paid for in full. Like what you see? When you want it badly enough, you will make extinguishing your debt your number one priority.

Wealth Building Rule 3: If You Don't Like Where your Parents Were at Your Age - Do Things Differently

The old cliché that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results," holds just as true today as it did when it was originally written. If you don't like where your parents were at your age, stop what you are doing. During your childhood, they taught you all they knew about money. For many people, these early years established how they feel about their finances today. In order to become financially successful, you must do something different than they did. Otherwise, you will end up exactly as they are.

Wealth Building Rule 4: When you Begin a Job, Look at the Pay of the Highest Employee

Whether you are looking for employment now or are thinking about it sometime in the near future, one of the most important things for you to do is to look at what the top-dog gets at any company for which you are considering working. This will give you an idea of how high you can expect to climb in terms of earnings and promotion. If the CEO is making $30,000 a year, you have no chance to make six figures. Select a job accordingly.

Wealth Building Rule 5: Do Something You Love and Get Paid for It

I remember going into college and being surrounded with people who wanted to be artists, scientists, and businessmen, but instead did what their parents or grandparents told them to do. There is no honor in being a doctor or a lawyer if you wake up every morning and hate your job. Pick a profession you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life.

Wealth Building Rule 6: Understand the Money Myth

Money is nothing more than a piece of paper with the image of a long-dead person on it. When you understand that any power it has over you is derived from your relationship with it, you suddenly become free from the constant pressures and stress of thinking about it. Especially at times such as these, if you are putting money away for ten, fifteen, or twenty years down the road, stop checking your portfolio every day! There is nothing you can gain from it except stress.

Wealth Building Rule 7: Your New Commodity is Not Your Labor, It's Your Ideas

With the advent of the Internet and other technological advances, you are no longer limited to supporting yourself or making a living by your physical labor. The only limit you have on yourself now is your own imagination - your ideas are the most valuable thing you possess. 

Every man, woman, and child is a salesman for a living; if you don't own a business or investments, then you sell your manual labor to a company in exchange for a paycheck. Change your product. The gap between the rich and poor does indeed grow larger with each passing year, but not because of inequalities or any other such injustices. 

Instead, it is because the rich understand money and how to use it. Capital is literally a seed; learn how to plant it to produce the best harvest. When you do this, you will rule your finances, not the other way around.

Source: Joshua Kennon, About.com Guide

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HOW TO BECOME WEALTHY

Nine Truths That Can Set You on the Path to Financial Freedom

#1: Change the Way You Think About Money


The general population has a love / hate relationship with wealth. They resent those who have it, but spend their entire lives attempting to get it for themselves. The reason a vast majority of people never accumulate a substantial nest egg is because they don't understand the nature of money or how it works.


Cash, like a person, is a living thing. When you wake up in the morning and go to work, you are selling a product - yourself (or more specifically, your labor). When you realize that every morning your assets wake up and have the same potential to work as you do, you unlock a powerful key in your life. Each dollar you save is like an employee. 


Over the course of time, the goal is to make your employees work hard, and eventually, they will make enough money to hire more workers (cash). When you have become truly successful, you no longer have to sell your own labor, but can live off of the labor of your assets.


#2: Develop an Understanding of the Power of Small Amounts


The biggest mistake most people make is that they think they have to start with an entire Napoleon-like army. They suffer from the "not enough" mentality; namely that if they aren't making $1,000 or $5,000 investments at a time, they will never become rich. What these people don't realize is that entire armies are built one soldier at a time; so too is their financial arsenal.


A friend of mine once knew a woman who worked as a dishwasher and made her purses out of used liquid detergent bottles. This woman invested and saved everything she had despite it never being more than a few dollars at a time. Now, her portfolio is worth millions upon millions of dollars, all of which was built upon small investments. I am not suggesting you become this frugal, but the lesson is still a valuable one. Do not despise the day of small beginnings!


#3: With Each Dollar You Save, You Are Buying Yourself Freedom


When you put it in these terms, you see how spending $20 here and $40 there can make a huge difference in the long run. Since money has the ability to work in your place, the more of it you employ, the faster and larger it will grow. 


Along with more money comes more freedom - the freedom to stay home with your kids, the freedom to retire and travel around the world, or the freedom to quit your job. If you have any source of income, it is possible for you to start building wealth today. It may only be $5 or $10 at a time, but each of those investments is a stone in the foundation of your financial freedom.


#4: You Are Responsible for Where You Are in Your Life


Years ago, a friend told me she didn't want to invest in stocks because she "didn't want to wait ten years to be rich..." she would rather enjoy her money now. The folly with this school of thinking is that the odds are, you are going to be alive in ten years. The question is whether or not you will be better off when you arrive there. Where you are right now is the sum total of the decisions you have made in the past. Why not set the stage for your life in the future right now?


#5: Instead of Buying the Product... Buy the Stock!


Someone once asked me why they weren't wealthy. They always felt like they were putting money aside, yet never seemed to get any further ahead. The answer is simple. I told them to stop buying the products companies sell and start buying the company itself! 


A survey of America's affluent (those who make over $225,000 a year or own $3,000,000 in assets) revealed that 27-30% of all the income the wealthy earned went into investments and savings. That isn't a result of being rich, that is why they are rich. When the pain of getting out of the bondage of financial slavery is greater than the pain of changing your spending habits, you will become rich. Either change, or be content to live as you are.


#6: Study and Admire Success and Those Who Have Achieved It... Then Emulate It


A very wise investor once said to pick the traits you admire and dislike the most about your heroes, then do everything in your power to develop the traits you like and reject the ones you don't. Mold yourself into who you want to become. You'll find that by investing in yourself first, money will begin to flow into your life. Success and wealth beget success and wealth. You have to purchase your way into that cycle, and you do so by building your army one soldier at a time and putting your money to work for you.


#7: Realize that More Money is Not the Answer


More money is not going to solve your problem. Money is a magnifying glass; it will accelerate and bring to light your true habits. If you are not capable of handling a job paying $18,000 a year, the worst possible thing that could happen to you is for you to earn six figures. It would destroy you. I have met too many people earning $100,000 a year who are living from paycheck to paycheck and don't understand why it is happening. The problem isn't the size of their checkbook, it is the way in which they were taught to use money.


#8: Unless Your Parents Were Wealthy, Don't Do What They Did


The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If your parents were not living the life you want to live then don't do what they did! You must break away from the mentality of past generations if you want to have a different lifestyle than they had.


To achieve the financial freedom and success that your family may or may not have had, you have to do two things. First, make a firm commitment to get out of debt. Second, make saving and investing the highest financial priority in your life; one technique is to pay yourself first.


Purchasing equity is vital to your financial success as an individual whether you are in need of cash income or desire long-term appreciation in stock value. Nowhere else can your money do as much for you as when you use it to invest in a business that has wonderful long-term prospects.


#9: Don't Worry


The miracle of life is that it doesn't matter so much where you are, it matters where you are going. Once you have made the choice to take control back of your life by building up your net worth, don't give a second thought to the "what ifs". Every moment that goes by, you are growing closer and closer to your ultimate goal - control and freedom.


Every dollar that passes through your hands is a seed to your financial future. Rest assured, if you are diligent and responsible, financial prosperity is an inevitability. The day will come when you make your last payment on your car, your house, or whatever else it is you owe. Until then, enjoy the process.


Source: About.com Guide

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TOP 10 BILLIONAIRES SAVING THE PLANET

AS OF THIS WRITING, THERE ARE 793 BILLIONAIRES IN THE WORLD. While most are engaged in giving, a select few focus their philanthropy on environmental issues—climate change, renewable energy, the creation of green cities and species conservation. Here’s Worth’s ranking of the top 10 green billionaires, based on their impact.

1 RICHARD BRANSON

(worth $2.5 billion)

THE VISIONARY

Billionaire CEO of the Virgin Group, Richard Branson devotes much of his time to his philanthropic arm, Virgin Unite, which includes an initiative dedicated to fighting CO2 emissions. In February Branson announced the Green Capital Global Challenge—a one-year, 10-city program to increase energy efficiency in the built environment.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

In 2006 Branson pledged all profits from Virgin Transportation for the next 10 years to developing green energy. In 2007 he launched the Virgin Green Fund to support renewable energy investments, and announced his $25 million prize for any technology that can safely remove carbon from the atmosphere.

LEGACY

Pledge from Virgin Transportation estimated at $3 billion

2 TED TURNER

(worth $1.9 billion)

THE CABLE MAN

Erstwhile media mogul Ted Turner first displayed his passion for environmental philanthropy with the establishment of his Turner Foundation in 1990, an organization committed to maintaining the planet’s natural resources.

CLEAN ENERGY & CONSERVATION

Turner has given to the UN Foundation, an advocate of clean energy, created a Nuclear Threat Initiative to reduce the global threat from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, launched the Turner Endangered Species Fund to promote biodiversity and conservation, and created the Captain Planet Foundation— which includes the hit TBS show Captain Planet—to encourage children to become environmental stewards.

LEGACY

More than $1 billion to the UN Foundation

3 GEORGE SOROS

(worth $11 billion)

THE FINANCIER

Since the ’70s, Soros, the Hungarian-born hedge fund manager, has donated more than $7 billion to various philanthropic endeavors, and in recent years his attention has turned to environmentalism.

CLIMATE CHANGE

In 2009 Soros announced the foundation of his new global climate watchdog group, the Climate Policy Initiative, which he’ll fund to the tune of $100 million over the next 10 years. The San Francisco-based foundation will focus on policy "to protect the public interest against special interests.”

LEGACY

Pledged $1 billion at Copenhagen last year to develop clean energy sources

4 JEFF SKOLL

(worth $1.8 billion)

THE FILMMAKER

Former eBay president Jeff Skoll founded Participant Media, which produces socially conscious films and documentaries, often paired with social actions to encourage audiences to participate and make a difference. Credits include Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, as well as Syriana, Food Inc. and The Cove, winner of this year’s Academy Award for best documentary.

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

Skoll has also handed out grants to 72 social entrepreneurs. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, the Skoll Foundation seeks to create a sustainable future through social entrepreneurship, with particular emphasis on climate change, water scarcity, pandemics and nuclear proliferation.

LEGACY

Grants to various social entrepreneurs totaling more than $40 million

5 ZHENGRONG SHI

(worth $1.1 billion)

THE SUN KING

Shi earned his PhD in Australia at the University of New South Wales’ School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering. Shi returned to China in 2001 to found Suntech Power, the largest manufacturer of photovoltaic cells for solar technology in the world.

SOLAR POWER

One of the richest men in China, Shi has donated considerable funds for renewable energy research to his alma mater. He also gifted a Suntech solar array to the Sydney Theatre Company’s new Wharf Theatre, led by creative directors Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton. Using advanced crystalline silicon solar technologies, the project recently broke the world record for the highest conversion efficiency.

LEGACY

$2 million from the family foundation of Dr. Zhengrong and Vivienne Shi to help fund the “Greening the Wharf” project in Sydney

6 GORDON MOORE

(worth $2.6 billion)

THE INSIDE MAN

Silicon Valley billionaire and Intel co-founder Gordon Moore has given generously to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which has invested in environmental initiatives ranging from marine conservation to maintaining wild salmon ecosystems to preserving Andes- Amazon biodiversity.

BIODIVERSITY

In 2000 Moore donated half his Intel stock to the Moore Foundation to underwrite scientific research, environmental protection and promote the San Francisco Bay Area. The long-time environmentalist also donated $35 million to Conservation International to create the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, a Washington-based think tank.

LEGACY

Estimated $5 billion worth of stock to the Moore Foundation

7 SERGEY BRIN & LARRY PAGE

(worth $12 billion)

DO-GOODERS

Google co-founders Page and Brin like to say that sustainability is good for people, profit and planet. Their corporate headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., is decked out with solar panels and the much-hyped Bloom Energy servers, providing up to 30 percent of peak energy demand.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Google’s for-profit philanthropic arm, Google.org, promotes several sustainability initiatives. One of them, Recharge IT, aims to accelerate the commercialization of plug-in vehicles, while another, RE

LEGACY

Setting aside one percent of Google’s equity and yearly profits to philanthropy

8 MICHAEL DELL

(worth $12.3 billion)

COMPUTER CLEANER

Under the stewardship of Dell the entrepreneur, Dell the company overtook HP to become the number one green technology brand last year. With its recycling programs, energy efficient buildings, downsized packaging and publications printed on 50 percent recycled paper, Dell is raising the bar on corporate sustainability.

CARBON OFFSETTING

Chair of an in-house sustainability committee, Michael Dell has also made a personal commitment to the environment, matching donations to the company’s European “Plant a Tree for Me” program.

LEGACY

Conation matching for three months for Plant a Tree for Me carbon offsetting and more than $1 billion through the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to support children living in urban poverty

9 MICHAEL BLOOMBERG

(worth $16 billion)

THE BILLIO-MAYOR

Media magnate and New York City mayor Bloomberg is renowned for his largesse. Bloomberg the politician parallels Bloomberg the philanthropist: In 2007 he vowed to make NYC environmentally sustainable by 2025. As buildings account for 80 percent of the city’s carbon emissions, greening them is top priority.

SUSTAINABILITY

In 2009 Bloomberg greenlit a $20million environmental efficiency makeover of the Empire State Building—all 6,500 windows of the iconic 102-story tower will be replaced with triple-glazed glass produced on site, which will result in energy savings of approximately 38 percent.

LEGACY

$235million in personal contributions to over 1,000 organizations promoting public health, education and the environment

10 BILL GATES

(worth $40 billion)

THE PROGRAMMER

Gates’ philanthropic focus can be measured by the kinds of insects he releases at the annual TED conference: Last year it was mosquitoes (to raise awareness about malaria); this year, fireflies, to demonstrate the need for “energy miracles” to combat climate change.

ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE

Gates is officially switching gears “from vaccines and seeds to energy and climate” to realize his goal of a fossil-fuel-free 2050.

LEGACY

$28 billion, much of it for global health and development, from The Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation

Source: Worth Magazine

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