Making It Happen
Figure 2 includes examples of how the financial elite follow the Money Rules and some ideas for how advisors can employ them to boost their income and net worth. Each rule has multiple implications and, depending on the information you gather and the business decisions you make, can lead to a broad array of possible actions. Down the road, there are numerous other ways that interested advisors can translate the Money Rules into concrete actions that result in greater wealth.
Finding Balance
As any billionaire or multimillionaire will attest, getting exceptionally wealthy always comes with sacrifices: exhaustion, long work hours, missing the first steps or words of a child, canceled vacations and divorce. And given the extreme psychological and physical changes often required to reach the realm of the financial elite, those that do understand the quid pro quo are often reluctant. It's important to realize, however, that this is not a binary situation. It's possible to increase your wealth without sacrificing your personal agenda. And, not surprisingly, this is what the large majority of people want. In a survey of individuals with between $1 million and $10 million in net worth, more than three-quarters of them said the ideal situation would be garnering more wealth while maintaining the current allocation of time and effort they put toward their personal affairs (Figure 3). Another 6% were willing to sacrifice wealth in exchange for more personal time.
By working to strike that balance, you might end up with tens of millions instead of hundreds of millions-an acceptable outcome for many people-yet you will have been able to establish a comfortable balance between amassing a personal fortune and your personal preferences and self-determined obligations.
Whether you want to become incrementally wealthier or join the ranks of the super-rich, the actions you need to take are the same. It's just a matter of degree. The non-negotiable element is follow-through. Pondering, talking, planning and daydreaming will not deliver results. You must be process oriented, highly systematic and persistent. It's been proved throughout the ages that by embracing the Money Rules you can get seriously rich. When you do, we recommend you get yourself a private jet to go with your private foundation.