Turn That Treadmill into a Staircase 💸 Make Money Work For You OR You Will Always Work For Money 💰
We All Dream
Dreaming is vital to our growth and expanding our world. Many of us dream of great wealth and financial freedom, but all of us are not actively pursuing this wealth. If you have a destination in mind, then you'd better get some good directions! Otherwise, you end up lost on the path.
I read something last night that inspired me
A long time friend & fellow creative, @finnian, recently wrote an incredibly impactful article entitled:
My Father Did It, I Did It, And You Can Do It Too!
I thought about his article for a while last night, while working with my father on some projects around my house. Much that Finnian mentioned about his fondest memories as his father's 'assistant', were quite similar to many of my childhood experiences. Last night, as I was my father's assistant; my son was mine. Three generations of blood, working toward a common goal. That really got me thinking hard about how grateful I am for what I have and my life experiences. I am no stranger to the hustle and I have my parents to thank for that. They are the OG HUSTLERS. Something that I will touch more on later in this post.
I'm grateful for knowing what hard work looks like
I woke up this morning to return to @Finnian's article and leave some thoughts on his work - which inspired me tremendously. No bullshit, no hype. His post was simple, but his timing was perfect. I read his article after my Dad left my house and it reminded of so many memories, about the same age as my son (almost 4). My father never sat and watched TV or movies, he was always (literally) working on work, working on rental properties he owns, or working around the house. Always doing things that he had never done - learning them as he needed to. He is the same way to this day. When he runs short of things to work on, he comes over to my house.
The struggle is real, I've seen it. Just don't ever believe it's impossible for you
I watched my mother & father lose a business and our home when I was about my son's age. We lost everything. My parent's both struggled with illness/disease. Dad was in a nearly fatal car accident prior to my birth and an insulin dependent diabetic. My mother was diagnosed with MS when I was young. My father worked 3 jobs and my mother worked until it nearly killed her. My father worked 3 jobs until he could move up to a pay scale that allowed him to work 1. My mother's MS years later went into remission and she went right back to work! Watching my parents working tirelessly made me want to do even more. It is a fire under your ass once you have witnessed such relentless and intentional progress being made. It's incredible. I'm incredibly thankful. Now at my own humble beginning with my family and I'm applying what I have seen in my own life; to show my own children.
I wanted to restructure some thoughts from my comment on @finnian's article for the readers of this post.
I was raised by people that never accepted failure and have constantly grown their skills, they worked hard and have grown their wealth. They are fighters and they know that in order to win a fight you must never do the bare minimum. It takes tenacious effort and dedication. It takes a plan and the power to overcome any barriers that stand between you and your destination.
My parents own 4 properties and my mother recently got her real estate license and is already finding success in that new endeavor. She is educated in several fields and is an incredibly strong woman. Being able to witness it all and see the result is the most inspiring thing. I cannot describe it to you. You have to see it in your own way. My children will know the same as I know - I'm making sure of it each and every day. I'm a hustler, baby! Born into the grind.
I commented on @Finnian's article and my iPad battery died while I was making breakfast for my little ones. I lost what I had written and re-wrote it again - this time making sure to post it. I wasn't going to allow my simple mistake to erase a message that I felt like sharing. If it is what I want to do - it is what I'm going to do. I roll with the punches all day long, trust me I work and watch toddlers simultaneously. Hats off to those who know that struggle.
I highly recommend reading @finnian's article, My Father Did It, I Did It, And You Can Do It Too! and you may see the comment I mentioned above.
Complacency kills - working just hard enough to sustain won't bring you wealth
Consistency only takes a person so far. Without perseverance and the desire to go beyond your current status, you are complacent. Consistency can take you from failure to failure indefinitely. It can also work the other way around with success. We already know that consistency cannot, on its own, bring you wealth. Consistency without any further goal is being static in a very dynamic world. Might help build savings, but will not build wealth. To be persistent, sometimes this means failing and retrying until one has persevered. That means winning. Pushing beyond your current status and building a ladder for you to later pick the fruits currently out of reach. When you invest the seeds of those fruits and reap further reward from a singular effort - that is building wealth. That is the win I am talking about. If you are happy working for money, instead of making it work for you - you're basically saying:
We must want it in the worst way
We have to want wealth in such a way that it compels us to persist until we have achieved it little by little. It doesn't amass overnight. Even playing the lottery - you have to play to win. If you think about winning the lottery every day, you think about which numbers you would play, but you never buy a ticket - you can't possibly win. Sure, playing the lotto is gambling and that many will not consider this work. However, it still requires some effort. That old school method of working toward success: Find a company, stick with it, work your way up. Sad to say, that is history. This world is so dynamic that a strategy like that works in very rare instances. Very few will ever develop wealth this way. You will live comfortably, but the wealth I'm talking about is something you can't even spend in a lifetime; a legacy. A lasting value, that is wealth to me.
"I popped twenty bottles, that was just a scrimmage" Meek Mill
Everybody wants wealth, but few will make it!
I think the problem is that many of us expect some lump-sum payout for a lotto that we have not yet secured a ticket for. We want 'Money for nothin'. We all want that big wealth, but half of us aren't even willing to work for it. We all want higher pay, but some of us will clock out of work today and vegetate on a piece of furniture somewhere in front of a tv screen or computer. Instead of that, some others clock out to clock back in - growing and building upon wealth. Not just in assets, but the wealth of knowledge.
Wealth isn't always in your pocket
My grandfather always told me "Brandon, you aren't always rich in your pockets." Even when you lose every cent you have ever worked for, your knowledge and experience is something that stays (always). When you have the knowledge and a little bit of money - you can make money work for you.
Make money work for you or you'll end up working for money (for life)
Work hard and make money, BUT make your money work just as hard if not harder than you.
Turn the treadmill into a staircase, my friends!! That 's a ticket to financial freedom!
My mom told a sister of mine that I "attracted" money. At the time I heard about that happening, I wasn't sure if it was an insult to all the hard work I do or a compliment in the sense of attracting what you desire.
There really does seem to be some magic to it, but I believe most of it is hard work. Hard work being defined as working hard towards smart goals too. Another one of my sayings is this:
You do what you think about, and you become what you do.
Other people have different ways to express the same concept already, but the main point is that everyone should carefully guard what they think about from moment to moment. Do not dwell on negative thoughts. Keep your goals in mind instead.
It helps you have the dedication and desire to achieve them.
In my post I forgot to add another aspect of success that is rarely mentioned, and it is related to everything else we've been discussing:
It has been scientifically proven that successful people have a higher pain threshold. They will endure far more pain than the average person.
What exactly does that mean? Well, it means as Will Smith once said about him and another person on a treadmill, "I'm going to win or die trying." He would never give up his goal due to pain.
Successful people do not quit no matter how painful things become.
...
and...
That leads to my concluding thought for this reply. Warriors ignore pain. This whole thing, the entire topic, is about being a warrior in a deep down investigation of it. People who succeed are warriors because they refuse to quit no matter the price or pain.
My friends are warriors. There's no mystery as to why either. Thanks, @grow-pro!
@grow-pro. Thanks alot. You are the man.
Just doing what I can to help the people that support me 😉 . #teamsteamit
Keep up the good work @yaanivapeji, you're the man too!
Very nicely written buddy, keep it up :)
I really appreciate that @thecryptotrader. Turn that treadmill into a staircase! 💸
If you can let your ideas pour, then you can make it rain
:)
Another good from you today.