7 SECRETS OF THE RICH:

by Dyan Ramos
The following are list of things that were probably not taught to many
of us in childhood. Things that we regret not knowing from the start,
yet we will appreciate once we start practising them now. I listed them
down based on my experience mingling with businesspeople & experienced
financial coaches themselves. Friends, enjoy the "7 Secrets of the
Rich' :
1) Rich people believe failures are essential part of growth and
success. It is not a few times when we have been conditioned not to
make mistakes -- whether at home, school or work. Most of us grew up
"afraid to fail" because we're used to have it accompanied by a
punishment. The worst is people in our past used these failures and
mistakes against us, that made us go for the safer sail. Notice
therefore that 90% of Filipinos would go for job security (afraid to
take risks) rather than aim for perfection in business . Because we're
afraid of the unknown and the unfamiliar, we'd rather not talk about
money and instead go on with our mediocre life expecting everyday to be
the same at the office. Yet, when you think of the most successful and
the wealthiest people on earth, none of them talked about a perfect
journey while in the process of getting rich. Nanay Socorro of National
Bookstore, Mr Henry Sy & Mr. John Gokongwei Jr. each had his/her own
version of downfalls & failures before they made it to the top. The big
secret therefore is to strengthen your tolerance to failure, and to get
yourself educated to lower the risk especially in doing business and
investing. In today's information age, almost all questions about life
have their answers somewhere. Take advantage of the information
technologies like the internet, wireless communication etc. to get
answers and to pacify your doubts.
2) Rich people are not the smartest, they just have better money
managemement habits. The wealthiest of men (most of them from
childhood) practice proper handling of finances and allocating their
income into different purposes (e.g. 50% of income goes to Necessities,
10% goes to Charity or Give Account). The discipline to stick to the
habit is already within their being as they have been practising it for
many years. They are also skilled in differentiating Assets from
Liabilities, and in handling their Financial Statements. They know for
instance that Assets are properties that put money INTO their pockets
while Liabilities are things that take money OUT of their pockets. A
house may be an Asset if it is being rented & you get monthly cashflow
from your tenants, while it can also be a Liability if you are living
on it & paying monthly dues for its mortgage. Same with a car, if you
use it for business, it is an Asset; yet, if you bought it for personal
use & leisure it becomes a Liability. The wealthy are skilled in
updating their financial statements, means they're taking account of
every peso & every centavo. For ordinary Filipinos to have access on
how to start writing a financial statement, the rich recommend getting
a mentor who can teach you the basics of personal & business finance.
You'll discover that it really is just simple math, you don't need to
be a wizard in order to become financially successful.
3) Rich people value the spirit & culture of sharing. In a world where
most people think scarcity, the rich believe that resources are
abundant and that the world is overflowing with opportunities. While
the poor practice the infamous "crab mentality" habit (pulling down
whoever's on top), the rich like the idea of seeing everyone succeed in
business & life. You may have witnessed this among the circles of
Chinese businessmen where they push each other to become richer because
by then, their own businesses improve as well (i.e. they get more
potential investors, people have more purchasing power, the economy gets
stronger) . These Chinese businessmen protect themselves by protecting
others first. The wealthy recommend an average person to practice
sharing everyday -- share information, ideas, opportunities and
resources to others so that once wealth is in his hands, he is ready to
grow it. If one wants to be successful and truly wealthy, it is crucial
that he gives up attachment to money and material wealth. The most
valuable factor in your journey to becoming financially free is the
mindset. It's not about how much you have now, but how ready you are
for future wealth. Share what you have -- be a generous giver and an
excellent receiver as well. Feel like you are already wealthy by having
the "abundance mentality". The world is full of blessings &
opportunities if you just look around & seek for them.
4) Rich people use the art and science of leverage in business.
Leverage means using OPR or "Other People's Resouces" (i.e. time,
money, talent, skills) to speed up one's growth in business and in
life. It is indeed never new to the wealthy to define an authentic
business as that with atleast 500 people working for the owner or with
the owner as partners. It's just natural (a universal rule), nobody
gets successful in life by doing it alone. That's why 90% of small
business owners fail in the first 5 years due to mismanagement as
backed up by DTI. Small businesses, specifically traditional ones, find
it hard to expand with just a few workers because their income reaches
a certain limit. The owner of a small business usually runs out of money
or energy after a few years of operation. It lacks a system, and the
power of leverage. Yet, take a look at what Mark Zuckerberg did with
Facebook. As the youngest billionaire quoted by Forbes magazine, he
reaches out to billions of Facebook users worldwide and leverage on
them & and his system to earn $150 million annually from his
advertisers. It means he can leave the business operation to his
workers & the system while earning (a great example of "people & system
working for him, and NOT him working for the business"). There are
thousands and thousands of business ideas being created every hour at
different places in the world. Yet, they are not being executed because
of lack of knowledge on systems and the use of leverage.
5) Rich people think long-term. While the poor spend for their present
lifestyle, the rich think long-term by buying Assets (e.g. real estate
properties, businesses) that could generate passive income (income
without work) and eventually give them time to enjoy their wealth. The
reason most employees remain broke is that they buy Liabilities (e.g. a
car, a house under years of mortgage) that take money out of their
pocket. While the poor and middle class spend for now, the richest of
people believe that the secret to long-term wealth is to "delay
gratification" . Thus, they add more to their passive income generators
(e.g. buy more properties, invest more on paper assets & businesses) so
that in the future they could enjoy their wealth. They know for a fact
that Financial Freedom means having not only the money but BOTH the
money & the time. Lots of people nowadays may find excessive cash is
not really that hard to earn, but how many of us can really enjoy these
cash? How many can take vacations for the whole year & come back to
find their income still flowing or even getting stronger? Not a lot I
could guess. Like what my mentors would always say "better work your
ass off for the first 5 years & enjoy wealth for the rest of your life
THAN work easy all your life without ever having a chance to enjoy what
you've worked for." Yet as crazy as it may sound, statistics show that
most Filipinos would rather stick to job security than start a business
full time. There must be something wrong somewhere with the way we were
raised and the values that were instilled in most of us.
6) Rich people prioritize financial education. One of the biggest myths
in business believed by many is that a huge capital (let's say, 20
million pesos) should be available before you can do business to enjoy
the success of business tycoons like Mr. Henry Sy. Ofcourse capital
plays a role in business, but it shouldn't be the first priority. If
you talk to any of the wealthy people living today, they will tell you
the same thing -- focus on your financial education first. Get yourself
educated in matters of business. There are thousands of books written
about leadership, success and getting rich (e.g. "Secrets of the
Millionaire Mind" by T. Harv Eker & "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert
Kiyosaki are highly recommended) . These authors gave us a chance to
access the minds of the wealthy & what made them successful. There are
also seminars & workshops being held by financial gurus & financial
education advocates. Their aim is to make it available for ordinary
people the secrets & the values practised by the wealthy. Take
advantage of these opportunities. David Bach, an American author once
said "financial education needs to become a part of our national
curriculum and scoring systems so that it's not just the rich kids
that learn about money... it's all of us."
7) Rich people find mentors that they could model and learn from. This
is perhaps the most important of all the 7 secrets mentioned above.
Because without a mentor, somebody won't know where & how to start. If
you do not have a "rich dad" to model, the rich recommend that you
search for virtual mentors (i.e famous authors & inspirational
speakers) or find a group from which you could learn BOTH the mindset
and the skill set to be able to make it successful in business.
Remember to look for mentors who have the experience and a good track
record that prove their success. One of the great things about having
mentors & coaches is that you can leverage on their past failures &
experiences. Means, you do not have to undergo the same trials &
downfalls because what your mentors present to you is already the proven
road. Friends, family members & colleagues who aren't experienced in
business don't count. Why listen to these people while deciding for
something when they haven't even proven to be financially free
themselves? This is insane, yet most Filipinos are guilty of this.
Environment, no doubt, plays the most influence in a person's decision.
If you want to get ahead of the business game & in life, surround
yourself with people who can build you up & people you can model. True
enough, if you want to learn yoga, you find a yoga coach. And if you
want to learn business, you find a business coach. It's pure simple
logic.