The following is the story of how my wife Kim, my best friend Larry Clark and I, began our journey from broke, to rich, to retired in less than 10 years. When Kim and I started, we were nearly out of money and filled with doubt. We all have doubts. The difference is what we do with those doubts.
In December 1984, Kim, Larry and I were on a skiing holiday. At night we would discuss our plans for the future. Kim and I were on our last few dollars and Larry was in the process of building another business. On New Years Day, we tried to set some goals. Larry wanted to do more than just set goals for the coming year, he wanted us to set goals that changed our lives.
"Why don't we write a plan on how we can all become financially free?" he urged.
I had talked about it and dreamt about it. But the idea of being financially free was always in the future, not today.
"Let's write it down," Larry said. "Once we write it down, we have to do it, and we'll support each other on the journey."
Kim and I looked at each other doubtfully. "It's a good idea but I think I would rather just focus on surviving for the next year."
"Come on," said Larry. "Let's go for freedom. I don't want to spend my life working just to pay bills. I want to live. I want to be rich. I want to travel the world while I'm young enough to enjoy it."
I recalled the words of my rich dad: "The biggest challenge you have is your own self-doubt and your laziness. It is your self-doubt and your laziness that define and limit who you are. It is your self-doubt and laziness that deny you the life you want."
It was time to choose. "OK, let's set the goal to be financially free." That was New Year's Day 1985. In 1994 Kim and I were free. Larry went on to build his company, which became one of Inc. Magazine's fastest growing companies of the year in 1996. Larry retired in 1998 at the age of 46 after selling his company.
How did we do it?
It's not about how we did it. It's about why we did it. From 1985 to 1994, Kim, Larry, and I focused on rich dad's three paths to great wealth:
Increasing business skills
Increasing money management skills
Increasing investment skills
The why is because I wanted to challenge my own self-doubts, my laziness and my past. It was the why that gave us the power to do the how.
My arguments against Larry's idea were things like: "But we don't have any money"; "I can't do that"; "I'll think about it next year, or once Kim and I get settled".
Rich dad had told me: "Whenever someone says something like 'I can't afford it', or 'I can't do it' to something they want, they have a big problem. Why in the world would someone say 'I can't afford it' or 'I can't do it' to something they want? Why would someone deny themselves the things they want? It makes no logical sense."
My own whys
I was fed up with being broke and always struggling for money.
I was tired of being average.
My parents had struggled under a mountain of bills.
Most painful of all, my beautiful wife Kim was in this financial mess because she loved me.
Things got worse for us before they got better. Kim and I lived in a car for about three weeks after our money ran out. So things did not get better just because we made the decision to retire rich, but it was the reasons why that kept us going.
Rich dad used to say: "If you want something, be passionate. Passion gives energy to your life." Passion is a combination of love and hate. "If you want something you do not have, find out why you love what you want and why you hate not having what you want. When you combine those two thoughts, you will find the energy to go get anything you want."
For example, I would create the following list:
LOVE
Being rich
Being free
Buying anything I want
Expensive things
Having other people do what I don't want to do
HATE
Being poor
Being required to work
Not having what I want
Cheap things
Doing things I don't want to do
So sit quietly to find and define your loves and hates. Then write down your whys. Write down your dreams, goals and plans on becoming financially free, retiring early and retiring as young as possible. Once it is in writing, you may want to show it to a friend who will support you in achieving your dreams. Take a look at this paper with your dreams, goals and plans on a regular basis. Talk about it often, ask for support, be willing to continually learn, and before you know it, things will begin to happen.
I have heard many people say: "Money doesn't buy happiness." That statement has some truth to it. But what money does do is buy me the time to do what I love and pay other people to do what I hate doing.
I am reminded of what my mentors said, "it's not the how,' it's the 'why' in this passage.
Rich dad had told me: "Whenever someone says something like 'I can't afford it', or 'I can't do it' to something they want, they have a big problem. Why in the world would someone say 'I can't afford it' or 'I can't do it' to something they want? Why would someone deny themselves the things they want? It makes no logical sense."
Take for example, suppose you are asked to go across the top of two high-rise building -- on a rope! Would you do it just for the heck of it? Of course not! But what if one of the buildings is burning, and your loved one is trapped on the top with a leg injury that he or she cannot go across the rope alone, you'd have to go across and carry him/her back. Would you do it? Probably without a moment's hesitation!
How about this: suppose you need to raise a million dollars to rescue a loved one from some terrible fate, say, rescue him or her from being stuck in a war zone. And you're only given a month to do it! What will you do?! You'd think of ways to raise that one million dollars! You'd probably loan from relatives, friends or even strangers. You'd join Fear Factor or worse. You might be tempted to sell your kidney or part of you liver. Anything! Just for the sake of a loved one.
So how come most of us, when it comes to committing to financial success, bicker and balk? Do we not have ourselves to take care of? Do we not have loved ones to feed and clothe and send to school and provide shelter? Do we not have important people whom we would like to spend more time with? These and more can be had by becoming financially successful. So how come a few people are willing to take the plunge?
To be honest, I don't know. I'm not an expert on psychology, but how I wish I were! I'll write a book that will rival Rich Dad Poor Dad and help improve lives.
The next part of my musings may offend some people, so there, you have been warned.
I have the impression that it's so much easier to invest in paper assets than in a business. You just have to research to decide where to put your cash and -- presto! -- you can now call yourself an "investor." But in reality, when you look at these investments, they only pay you back so little. Sure, some may provide "passive income," but unless you've invested big enough, the rewards are hardly noticeable, for me at least. Real investors invest millions of pesos or dollars, perhaps earn millions but losing millions is also a possibility.
Looking at the richest people in the world, most of them became successful by doing a business. And not just a small business: a life of opulence such as that enjoyed by the wealthiest people requires a large, nationwide or even global business. So how come people tend to shy away at the prospect of doing business? Probably it's because of the "risk." But what risk? What is risk? Most people confuse "risk" with "opportunity." I admire people who would rather invest in a small business, even start with a P5000 capital or less than spend it on unnecessary items, like a new cellphone. I admire people who see opportunity more than they see risk. When I speak to people about starting their own business, they would often say they it's "risky." Then bring out their Nokia N-Series phone. I don't know if they earn anything through their expensive phones, but I am sure that in a few months, the cell phone's value would decrease, while people who invested less than what other spend on their phones manage to grow their businesses.
Another aspect of business that many people are averse to is probably sales. And I must admit, I WAS averse to sales. But I realize that sales is an integral part of any business. Indeed, companies derive their income from their salespeople. If you are in the IT, management or other department that is not involved in sales, thank the sales guys for helping you keep your job or business. But sometimes, meeting people face-to-face is a terrifying idea. "What if the prospect rejects me?" Rejection seems to be the root of the "fear" problem. Yet rejection is a part of sales. as long as you do sales, you will encounter rejection. The best way to counter this is not to take rejections personally. And think that "no" is not "never."
But then I think it's necessary for most people to remain employees the rest of their lives. Otherwise, us business people will continually have to look for replacements! So I am grateful people are hardy enough to endure labor, for people to do the work us business people would not do.
Best regards,
Jason Estiamdo
