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Choose Your
Ideal Life
How To Live A Millionaire’s Lifestyle
On Your Current Income
Craig Dewe
www.LifestyleOutlaws.com
Let’s Start At The Very Beginning…
When we talk about money becoming a millionaire sounds like a nice idea. We
probably couldn’t tell anyone why we actually want to be a millionaire but it
just sounds like a nice round number to shoot for.
In fact take a minute and try to come up with 10 reasons why you want to
become a millionaire right now. Not so easy is it?
I believe the reality is that most of us don’t actually want a million dollars.
Sounds crazy but bear with me for a second...
I would hazard a guess that the biggest reason you want to become a
millionaire is the lifestyle freedom you believe it brings you. It’s more about
the financial freedom that we believe a bunch of money sitting the bank would
bring.
After all... if you had a million dollars you’d be able to sit on the side of pool
sipping martinis for the rest of your life... or something like that.
Well in this short report I want to share with you the keys to living a
millionaire’s lifestyle right now... on your current income.
So if your idea of a millionaire’s lifestyle includes sipping martinis on the side of
the pool we can easily make that happen right now in two easy steps...
1) Make a martini
2) Go sit by a pool (yours, your neighbors or the local swimming center)
Wow… who would have thought living this millionaire’s lifestyle would be so
easy!
The Problem With Becoming A Millionaire
The problem is that what we think the millionaire’s lifestyle looks like and what
it really is are two very different things. I know many millionaires and they
don’t spend much time out by the pool. In fact many of them don’t even have
pools.
The media constantly surrounds us with the lifestyles of the rich and famous so
we get this image built up in our minds of what their lives look like. We see TV
shows with the big mansions, the fast cars and the stories of exotic travel and
think that’s what their life looks like all the time.
The reality is far from the truth.
Some Millionaire Myths Busted
A typical rich and famous lifestyle we might see belongs to sports stars. They
make millions of dollars for playing their sport and it sounds like a great living.
But how much effort do you think it takes for them to constantly stay at the
top of their game?
The elite athletes of this world are training more hours than you’re working a
full time job. And training doesn’t mean just playing around at a game they
love. It means pushing themselves to the physical limit in order to get the
results (and the paycheck) they desire.
How about movies stars? From the outside their lives sure look glamorous with
all the red carpet glitz and the constant dating gossip. The reality is when
they’re shooting movies they’re working long days, often away from their
families and friends.
And that doesn’t count all the years of effort they put in to become big names.
Overnight success stories are hard to find… they’re often backed up by years
and years of struggle that the viewing public fail to see (and appreciate). Sure
$10 million a movie might sound nice for A-listers but for every one of those
there are hundreds of thousands of actors slogging their guts away trying to
make it.
Not to mention that sport and movie stars aren’t exactly our best models of
wealth. Many of these famous stars end up spending all their money and
running into financial troubles down the road. If this is the road you want to
take then you better really love what you do.
So What Does A Millionaire’s Life Really Look Like?
Most millionaires I know work very hard. But they generally stopped doing this
for the money a long time ago. It’s more about a passion for what they do.
One of my friends wakes up at 5am every morning and starts working. Not
because she has too but because she really wants to. She finds it difficult to
even schedule a holiday in because of everything she wants to get done each
year.
Another couple I know earns about $800,000 a year through their business and
property investments that are pretty passive income based. But they’re still
working most of the time (including weekends) because they’re passionate
about what they do. They enjoy playing the game and will continue to do so no
matter how much they earn.
What’s The Key For Aspiring Millionaires?
If there is one thing I’ve learned about millionaires it’s the passion they bring
to the table. They really do love what they do and it’s not about the money
anymore. Money is just a scorecard for the value they bring to the world.
So if you want to be successful and make a lot of money I suggest finding
something that really drives you. You can’t get rich with some fancy scheme or
miracle product you find on the internet. However you can learn to become an
expert in your chosen field and the money will follow.
What Happened When I Chased The Money
When I was 20 I found the classic book Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich
Teach Their Kids About Money - That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not by
Robert Kiyosaki. From that point on I was determined to be rich and follow the
principles in the book. It’s led me on an amazing journey as I learned about
business from a bunch of different angles.
In my earlier days I was chasing the money a lot and found myself buying a lot
of information and training products that promised to grow my business and
my wealth. Now these were quality products and I never felt ripped off but one
day I realized it wasn’t more knowledge or a new fancy trick that I needed. My
success was going to come from choosing and path and sticking to it.
By working out exactly what my key strengths were I was able to focus in on
where I really added value and I made money as a result. The times when I
struggled was when I got away from my fundamental core strengths or slacked
off. The times when I’m most successful are when I’m focused on doing the
things I love that deliver value to the market.
Let’s Reframe How We Look At The Millionaire
Lifestyle
The question you have to ask yourself is do you really need to be living in a
mansion, driving a fancy car or constantly travelling the world to be happy.
Sure those things might sound nice and if they’re within your current financial
means then why not. But I would guess that they don’t make you happy.
So the first step is realizing that happiness will not come from the things you
own or the money you make. Happiness is an internal state that you can feel
anytime you want.
There are people living in the poorest of conditions in the third world who are
perfectly happy on a daily basis. They have enough food to eat, a roof over
their heads and productive work to do. Travel these areas and you will see
plenty of smiles on the people around you.
Millionaire Lifestyle Key #1: You decide to be happy
But What About All The Money Worries You Face?
Most people in western societies are under a lot of financial pressure. You may
experience the feeling of never having enough money to pay the bills or be
constantly fighting an uphill battle with your finances. The honest truth is that
your money worries are mostly self inflicted.
And while I’m pointing the finger a bit here allow me to point 3 fingers back at
myself. I know that all my money worries throughout my life have been
completely self inflicted. It was only when I accepted that truth that I was able
to make a change.
Sure unexpected things may have happened that put extra financial burden on
you but I would say if people in the third world can live on $1 a day then we
should have nothing to complain about.
The Difference Between Your Earning And Spending
Right now you have an income that is set by your employer or perhaps your
own business. You basically know what this income will be each week and yet
as a society we constantly spend beyond our means.
All the millionaires I know spend within their means. Some of them have large
incomes and some of them have much smaller incomes. The difference is in
how they use their money.
If you’re spending all the money you earn (or even more) then you’re on the
financial treadmill for disaster.
The millionaire lifestyle is about spending less than you earn. Then taking the
money you’re saving and investing it for higher returns. This is how millionaires
increase their wealth while other people struggle financially.
They simply put as much as they can away every paycheck (while still living a
decent lifestyle) and over time their wealth grows. As long as you spend
everything you earn you will never achieve true wealth.
Millionaire Lifestyle Key #2: Live within your means
But I Just Need More Money!
If you’re attitude is that you need some more money and then you’ll start
saving you’re never going to be wealthy. If you can’t manage the money that
you have then how do you ever expect to manage more?
We see this all the time with lotto winners. A study of national lottery winners
found that 44% had spent their entire winnings within 5 years1. They got a lot
more money but still managed to spend it all because that’s what they’re
psychological financial training was.
If you can’t live on the income you are currently receiving then you need to be
honest with yourself and look at where all the money is going. Or you can just
pretend that when you make more money you’ll suddenly start saving… good
luck with that strategy.
Once you have a handle on your current finances then you can look to increase
your income. But that doesn’t mean that your expenses should increase along
with it. It means you should now have more money to go towards your wealth
building efforts.
Millionaire Lifestyle Key #3: Make the most of your current income then
expand it
Don’t Be Manipulated Out Of Your Money
It’s really easy to spend money. In fact in today’s society we don’t even need to
have money to spend it. We have these magical plastic cards that let us spend
money we don’t even have.
You may think you needed that coffee, those new clothes, the trip away or the
car. The reality is that these are not “needs.” You need food such as fruits and
vegetables (not fast food or dining out), you need clothing (but not a closet full
of stuff you never wear) and you need a roof over your head (but not the
house that mortgages you to the hilt).
Most of us are emotional spenders. We spend money because it makes us feel
better and not because we actually need things.
I spent tens of thousands of dollars on training courses because I felt like
they’d get me closer to my goal… and while they all helped me I probably got
more out of the feeling that this was the one key that was going to help me
finally “make it.” The truth is I could of probably gotten the same information
1
http://www.statisticbrain.com/lottery-winner-statistics/
out of a library book and all I ended up doing was going into debt and making
my situation even more desperate.
When I watch millionaires spend I’m amazed at their financial constraint. No
matter how high their income they’re very careful with how they spend their
money.
I’ve heard that the only difference between a millionaire and the rest of us is
that they spend an extra minute thinking before they buy something. They
take that time to evaluate whether they really need what they’re about to
purchase or if they’re being manipulated (internally or externally). They make
the decision logically rather than emotionally.
Millionaire Lifestyle Key #4: Take control of your emotions and your money
How You Really Live The Millionaire Lifestyle
Every Day On Your Current Income
As you’ve seen the millionaire lifestyle is very different to what we imagine. So
what I mean about living the millionaire lifestyle on your current income is
really what I call lifestyle freedom.
Basically you have the freedom to choose your ideal lifestyle… not somebody
else’s.
I would hazard a guess that you’re happiest when you’re doing things that
don’t actually cost a lot of money. My personal list of things I love doing
includes kung fu, dancing, reading, learning and teaching. None of these are
very expensive and there are no barriers to me doing them.
I have a few things on my list like travel that require a bit more financial
resources but it’s really not that much when it comes down to it. With good
financial awareness we can save money for the things that are really important
to us.
For example my girlfriend takes a month off work to travel Europe every year.
She knows roughly when she’s going so she puts money aside for her Europe
trip all year, books out her holiday at work and she’s off. This doesn’t require a
huge salary to do… it just requires some planning.
How many people do you know go out and buy a nice car yet moan about not
being able to travel? Instead of spending $30,000 on a car (close to half their
salary) they could instead get something for $5,000 to 10,000 and spend the
rest on travel. It’s really a question of priorities.
So if you want to live a millionaire lifestyle every day on your current income
you simply have to make some choices…
1.
2.
3.
4.
What would you love to be doing?
How much would it actually cost you?
Where are you currently spending your money?
Are there places you could redirect funds to areas you’re more
passionate about?
Once you start thinking in these terms you can start living your millionaire
lifestyle any time you feel like.
Millionaire Lifestyle Key #5: Focus on creating your ideal lifestyle
Now It’s Time To Increase Your Income
And Build Your Wealth
Most millionaires do not become millionaires by getting paid a huge salary. So
unless you’re lucky enough to work in a very high paying industry you might
want to look at another way to build your wealth and income.
Income that comes from a job is known as “active income” and this is where
you trade your time for money. Basically you show up to work and you get paid
for it. At some point your active income is going to reach a cap (even for sports
and movie stars) because there are only so many hours in the day.
To build wealth you need to work on your “passive income” which is income
that comes from businesses or investments. This is where your money and
your resources produce you an income that requires little intervention on your
part. Basically you invest your time to maintain your income producing asset
but don’t need to work 40 hours a week to do so.
An example would be buying a rental property where you make an income that
covers the mortgage payments and other expenses. You might have a rental
property that puts $50 a week into your pocket and hence you’d have an
annual passive income of $2,600. It may not sound like much but remember
this is not dependent on your time… you can buy as many of these rental
properties as you want.
Another example is a business that is able to run by itself. If you’re selfemployed where you trade your time for money then you need to be present
at your business to make money. What we’re after is a business that pays us a
passive income long after we’ve built it while requiring a small amount of
maintenance to run.
If you ever want to be financially free where you no longer have to trade your
time for money then you need to build your passive income. To learn more
about this I highly recommend Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant: Rich Dad's
Guide to Financial Freedom by Robert Kiyosaki as he is the master of teaching
this topic.
Millionaire Lifestyle Key #5: Focus on building your wealth and passive income
Building Your Wealth The Sensible Way
However passive income is not about sitting on your butt and doing nothing. If
you are chasing the “living in the beach doing nothing” dream then you
probably don’t have the internal drive and motivation to actually make the
wealth to live your dream.
I see many people falling for the next get rich quick scheme on the internet.
These might be outright scams or they’re an information product that
promises you the world for a ridiculously low (or high) price tag. The reality is I
don’t know any millionaires who have built their wealth by jumping on some
amazing money making scheme that promised overnight results.
I know millionaires who have made their money in real estate, traditional
business, internet marketing and network marketing.
None of them had a fast track to wealth.
All of them spent years investing their time to learn the skills required to be
successful in their particular field.
In Outliers: The Story Of Success Malcolm Gladwell estimates that it takes
10,000 hours to become an expert in something and this timeframe sounds
about right to me. The people who put in 10,000 hours are the people who
become the top musicians, sport and movie stars, business people and
investors. If you look across the board there are always many years spent
learning to become an “overnight success.”
The important thing is what we choose to become experts in. We could choose
to become the highest paid origami folder in the world… however that would
still involve trading our time for money. But maybe there is a market for an
automated website that teaches others how to become amazing origami
folders as well.
As part of this journey I suggest you develop at least some expertise in creating
automated businesses or passive income sources that give you the lifestyle
freedom you desire.
You can be as wealthy as you desire by simply following one principle…
Millionaire Lifestyle Key #6: Keep going until you’re successful
The 4 Step Process Of Building Wealth
Here are the four steps that I believe are required for anyone to build wealth.
1) Identify Your Passion And Strengths
Building wealth is a long term journey and if you’re going to be successful then
you’ll probably choose a field that you’ll want to continue in long after you’ve
made millions (or billions).
Warren Buffett, Donald Trump and Richard Branson don’t do what they do for
the money. They do it because they love it. When you’ve found something that
truly drives you then that’s the first key to success.
You also want to make sure your path to wealth is in line with your strengths.
While there are many ways to become wealthy… not all of them will suit you.
I could never spend hours reading company returns like Warren Buffett does…
it would bore me to tears. Doesn’t mean it’s not a great way to become
wealthy but it’s just not for me.
However Richard Branson’s style of building companies is much more
interesting to me. I could always see myself owning multiple companies that
made a positive difference in people’s lives. I also highly indentify with Richard
Branson’s story.
The best tool I’ve found for indentifying your own path to wealth is Wealth
Dynamics by Roger Hamilton. You do an online test and at the end you’re
giving a report showing your Wealth Dynamics Profile and steps to achieving
wealth. This is one of the resources I’ve purchased over the years that I refer to
often in my journey (and it’s way underpriced in my opinion).
You can find out more here – Wealth Dynamics Profile Test
2) Choose Your Path To Wealth
Once you know your strengths you can begin to look at ways to create your
wealth. Depending on your passion and strengths you may be drawn to real
estate, investing or building a business. Within each of these categories there
will also be different aspects that you excel at and others that you’ll want to
grow a team to handle.
Once you’ve chosen a vehicle you need to get started. The best way to learn if
a vehicle is right for you is to jump in and take it for a test drive. Start
immersing yourself in that world by reading books and doing whatever you can
to get started.
Sometimes you’ll pick the wrong vehicle and need to switch. However realize
that whenever you switch you need to start again so best to do it early and find
the right path. I have a lot of skills when it comes to building businesses but
when it comes to real estate investing I have to realize that all my experience
in business doesn’t mean much.
I also realize that whenever I start a new business all my experience can reset
to zero as well. So I ensure that any of my new ventures stay close to my areas
of expertise and use business models that I already understand. Just because
I’ve built a successful online business it doesn’t mean I can go and open a pizza
shop… it’s a completely different game.
Seth Godin’s book The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit is
amazingly insightful when it comes to this topic and highly recommended
reading for anyone starting down the path to wealth.
Also remember that you should start your path to wealth on the side of your
current income. Keep your day job and work on your wealth in your free time.
That way you have the security of your income to keep you going while you
build your wealth over the long haul plus money to invest where needed.
3) Find Mentors Who Have What You Want
Once you’ve chosen your vehicle you need to start searching for mentors to
help guide you to success. For most things you are trying to do there are
already people who have walked the path so you can follow in their footsteps
and make the journey as easy as possible. With that said the journey is never
easy so don’t worry this isn’t “cheating.”
In the beginning mentors will usually come in the form of books or training
programs. It’s unlikely that you’ll walk out and find a millionaire who is willing
to teach you straight off the bat. And if you do make sure you listen carefully
and do exactly what they say no matter what.
The way to become wealthy is to select your goal and then start working
towards it. Roadblocks will come up as you travel and mentors will help you
avoid or overcome the obstacles you’re experiencing. Good advice at the right
time is incredibly valuable so you don’t spend your time slogging it out for no
reason.
There are people who have done what you’re trying to achieve and their
advice is worth paying for. Just remember that when you’re starting out you
don’t need Warren Buffett by your side… you’d start with his mentor’s highly
recommended book The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. As you get
real advisors you’d want to understand their investment history to know that
they really are successful.
Also beware of people acting like mentors who are really just out to sell you
their latest and greatest product. There are a lot more people who make their
money by selling you secret techniques and “no brainer” systems. These
people may be making money… but they’re usually making it by creating
products to sell about making money rather than actually following their own
advice.
As with anything… buyer beware and make sure you research the people
you’re listening to very carefully.
4) Continue To Learn And Grow
It makes sense that in order to get something you’ve never had you’re going to
need to do things you’ve never done. It’s like changing the way you control
your money so you live within your means. Your old behaviors have made you
struggle with money and you’re going to need to change those to be
successful.
No one becomes successful by staying the way they are… it’s as simple as that.
Imagine an athlete who turns up and expects to enter the Olympics right away.
I’ve heard it actually takes coaches about 2 years to work with a really elite
athlete and turn them into an Olympian. They have to take the elite and make
them amazing.
In your journey you have to go from beginner to competent to skilled to expert
to master. You get to choose how far along the path you go but if you want to
become a master then you’re looking at your 10,000 hours I mentioned
previously.
Along that journey you’re going to need to learn and grow. If you have a
personality type that hates learning then you’re going to struggle with this. The
good news is you can reprogram your past beliefs about learning if you want…
which is just another way of learning and growing.
I read business books and watch video courses for fun. I love attending
seminars. My ideal day involves learning more about how to improve my
businesses.
You can call me crazy but every millionaire’s house I’ve been too has an
impressive collection of books on their subject area and personal
development. And they never stop learning and growing no matter how
successful they get. There’s always someone else to learn from and that’s what
I love about this journey.
And I believe you need to love it too if you want to be successful.
5) Surround Yourself With Like-Minded People
Many successful people talk about the “5 closest friends” principle. Basically if
you take your income, your weight or other characteristics of your lifestyle
they will pretty much reflect the 5 people you spend the most time with. If you
take a look at your life now then you’ll probably find this to be true.
It makes sense that millionaires are not going to be spending that much time
with people earning $30,000 a year and definitely won’t be listening to their
advice on making money unless they have proven expertise in some area. Their
mindsets are completely different and they’re unlikely to become close friends
unless it’s through another shared interest like sports or hobbies. It’s not that
millionaires think they’re better… they just think differently.
It’s like when you go to a social gathering and find yourself “clicking” with one
person in particular. It’s not that you don’t like everyone else at the party… it’s
just that one person is resonating on the same wavelength as you.
If you want to build your wealth it also makes sense you want to invest time
with other people doing the same thing. These people understand what you
want and why you want it. They’re there to support you on the journey
because they’re on their own journey too.
I see it time and time again when people are surrounded by negative
influences in their lives. These people tell them that they can’t make money on
the internet or that real estate investing is risky. While they’re probably good
intentioned by trying to stop you getting hurt they’re not going to help you
build wealth.
So if you want to build your wealth and live life on your terms then you need to
start spending time with people going in the same direction as you. Luckily this
is now easier than ever before thanks to the internet and one of the reasons
we created Lifestyle Outlaws.
How Lifestyle Outlaws Can Help You
We are a group of like-minded people who are all working towards creating
our ideal lifestyles. By connecting with us you’ll receive motivation, ideas,
training and the support of a group that is travelling the same path as you. So
make sure you jump in by connecting via social media and interacting with our
content and members.
What we have created is a community… not just an information source. Sure
you’ll learn stuff by reading our posts but the real benefit comes from
interacting. So make an effort to chime in with your thoughts and questions to
experience the full power of a mastermind group like this one.
It’s easy to acquire knowledge on a subject… but true wisdom comes from
turning that knowledge into action.
Welcome to the community and enjoy the journey.
Connect With Us
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/LifestyleOutlaws
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/LifestyleOutlaw
Email – info@lifestyleoutlaws.com