Lance Smith ... "Takes on Life."

Every month or two, usually after one of my business ownership seminars, someone will come up to me and smugly say something like; "I am not like you or these people here, money means very little to me." I always get a good chuckle out of that remark and upon further questioning, without fail, they will fall into one of three categories:

1. They are collecting disability, welfare, unemployment or being financially supported by some other social program.
2. They are living at home with their parents, living on their own with the support of their parents, or are being financially supported by a friend, family member or their spouse.
3 They are working two to three jobs and if married, the spouse works as well. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that the people in the first two categories are virtually unteachable since it requires little or no effort on their part to exist. (Now I realize from time to time someone may need some temporary help, that's not what I am discussing here. I am referring to someone who is "riding in the wagon" questioning the motives as well as minimizing others for wanting to make money while they "pull the wagon.")
 The people in the third category give me hope. They are working hard so I will always try give them a few minutes of my time so I can walk them through a few common misconceptions. Personally, In my early 20's I had some misguided thoughts about money and wealth until I was taught some of the following simple truths:

 1. Money is neither good nor bad, it's a magnifier of who you are. Contrary to what many believe, money is certainly NOT the root of all evil. What the Bible actually says is, “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Those two little words, “love of” make a huge difference to the total meaning. I can tell you from my own experience that I thought more about money when I didn't have it than when I did. Look at every hospital wing, church, charity, or humanitarian effort and it will ultimately lead back to a financially blessed person who wanted to pay it forward and become a blessing to others. If you are a good person, we ALL want you to become wealthy!

 2. Time is more valuable than money. Financially successful people understand this and they use their money to buy time while everyone else sells it. When you have enough income, you are able to pay people to do the things you don't want to do yourself. Things like cleaning your house, maintaining your car, mowing your lawn, cleaning your pool or helping run your business. Once I understood that people pay others to do things they don't want to do so they can have more time for the things they want to do, the next logical question that changed my life years ago was; "so why am I getting paid at my job?"

 3. When you sell your time, you are never paid what you are worth, only what the job is worth. My daughter, who worked at a coffee shop, once complained to me that she should be paid more than $9.00 an hour. My daughter is amazing so I quickly agreed, but unfortunately for her the job was only worth $9.00 an hour. Once she understood this, she quickly found a new job that had more value. Remember, salaries are well publicized... Taking a job, then complaining about the pay is like moving to Phoenix and complaining that it's hot.

 4. Happiness doesn't come from having stuff, happiness comes from having options. While a nice house, car, or boat is great, most financially successful people value the freedom they have over anything that they own. When I had a job in my early 20's I was told when to get up, what time to be at work, when to go to lunch, and when I could go home. Come to think of it, most of the decisions that impacted my time and life were made by someone else. You can never be truly free until you are financially free.

 5. Unless you take control of your future, you will spend most of your life working for money. I had a very short debate with a professional in their thirty's last year. After he told me money wasn't his "priority" in life, I asked him; "what was?" He came up with a great list... His family, his faith, his health, helping others, etc... He was surprised when I agreed, then I asked him how much time he spent every day making money?" "Nine to ten hours" was his reply. Ok, how much time does that leave you with your family? Your faith? Your health? Etc.? He got quiet... because it's easy to say that money's not important but your time and actions tell the real story.

Chase your passions, make money, have fun and make a difference!
You've got this!