Three Steps to Financial Success

Financial success is not restricted to a few elite individuals. Success is the result of applying three basic steps.

Look at the lives of many wealthy people: Richard Branson, Warren Buffet, Robert Kiyosaki, and Donald Trump. They achieved financial success not because they were extraordinarily gifted but because they applied key wealth-creation principles to their lives.

One thing is sure: Income freedom requires work on your part.

You cannot expect the universe to reward you with riches if you are not prepared to take action. It also takes time. Financial success takes years of experience, which is why you need to be disciplined and patient.

Okay, so you’re a hard worker and full of determination. Big tick! Do you have a plan that is geared for success? This is critical.

Financial success is attained by following a three-step wealth creation plan.

Step 1: Get clear on your financial goal.

A clearly defined financial goal reads something like this: “When I stop working in 10 yearsyears’, I need $10,000 in passive income per month (in today’s time value of money) to support my desired standard of living.”

How do you view financial success? You must be able to define how you want to lead your life and how much passive income you require.

Step 2: Set the stage

• What is the state of your current financial position? If you cannot face up to the brutal facts today, forget about financial freedom.
• Are you ready to buy a house? There are a variety of things you can do to prepare yourself financially.
• Are you ready to experience massive personal growth through failure, reading, studying, and networking? You must grow before your bottom line can grow.
• Financial success requires a clearly defined business strategy, not an investment plan. In most cases, an investment plan dictates that you place your cash in a diversified portfolio of assets over the long term. In the words of one of the greatest investors, Warren Buffet, ‘Diversification is required when investors do not understand what they are doing.’’ A business strategy, on the other hand, is a focused income creation plan. It focuses on identifying market needs and how one can satisfy those needs with different products and services. The greater the need, the greater your financial success.

Step 3: Incorporate business systems

Once your strategy has been compiled, you need to put systems in place to do all the hard work for you.

For example, suppose you are a mechanic with expertise in vehicle maintenance. You could sell a ‘do-it-yourself car maintenance’ manual on the Internet and have several web pages do the selling and sales administration on your behalf.

Property is another example. Most people treat the property as an investment, which is a huge mistake. Property is a business, and you need to treat it as such. It’s not about selling property for a profit; it’s about using your team of professionals to milk property for its rental income.

Where to from here

There is so much to do. Take one step at a time. Decide what you want out of life. Sort out your current finances and compile your business plan. Financial success follows careful planning.