9 Secrets of Achieving Financial Freedom, Pt VIII

“9 Secrets of Achieving Financial Freedom Pt VIII”

As I conclude this series on the ‘9 Secrets to Achieving Financial Freedom’, let’s begin with a review of what we’ve covered so far. The Secret of Decision states that before you can accomplish any goal, you must ‘decide’ what you truly want. With the Secret of Total Commitment and the Secret of Clarity you commit to do, “Whatever it takes” to succeed and get very clear exactly what success will look like for you. Once you’re clear about what you intend to achieve, use the Secret of Decisive Action to both develop and execute a written game plan. Any goal worth achieving will likely involve many challenges and obstacles so you’ll need to fortify yourself by implementing the Secret of Perfect Attitude. With this secret you discover that while you may have little choice regarding your challenges and obstacles, you get to choose how you react to them. That choice allows you to respond in a positive, constructive and productive way…and will hasten your journey to success. Adopting the attitude of success allows you to incorporate the Secret of Financial Focus. Each day ask yourself, “What can I do today that will move me closer to my goal?” and then take a positive step. Most major goals are accomplished with hundreds of ‘baby steps’. The Secret of Passive Income states that to be truly financially free, you must create a source of cash flow outside of your own paycheck that is at least equal to lifestyle expenses. Think of it as a way of ‘automating’ your success. With the Secret of Leverage, you’re looking for ways to accelerate your success…to reduce the time it would normally take otherwise. In the world of personal finance leverage is available in many forms. Donald Trump and millions of other people use financial leverage to create personal fortunes with modest amounts of money. Business owners use ‘people’ leverage to magnify results. Just look at what Bill Gates has accomplished by assembling a group of highly talented employees. Our government provides tax laws that allow you to leverage returns through tax deductible retirement plans. And the list goes on and on.

This brings us to the final secret, the Secret of Team. Rarely have I met a Self-Made Multimillionaire who got there without a lot of help. In fact, built into most Self-Made Multimillionaires DNA is the intuitive knowledge that they’ll need to develop a Team; seek out mentors; and model others who have gone where they intend to go. You should do likewise. Whatever your goal, think about who you could get to help you achieve it. It might be a professional, a friend, a family member or someone you don’t know personally but will need to meet. You’ll find most people are willing to help you if you’ll just ask.

In my own Ultimate Fitness Quest, I used all of the above ‘secrets’ as I set out to lose 20 pounds of body fat in 40 days and cut my waistline from 37 inches to 34 inches. Each secret proved critical to success as each is interconnected. By day 40, I lost 20 ¼ pounds and cut my waistline to 33 inches. So where do I go from here? I’ll set a new health and fitness goal that builds on my current success. You can as well. Whether your goals are in the area of personal finance or fitness, take the first step today and visit www.StewartWelch.com.

Financial Freedom & the Ultimate Fitness Quest - Part 8

Financial Focus!

9 Secrets of Achieving Financial Freedom - Part V

In this continuing series of the ‘9 Secrets to Achieving Financial Freedom’, today I’ll discuss the Secret of Financial Focus. One of the reasons that so many people struggle financially is they fail to give proper attention to their finances. Sure, they’re paying the bills and maybe putting a little money into their company’s retirement plan but that’s not enough to create financial success. The success of the Secret of Financial Focus lies in consistent attention to your finances. If you want to become financially free, how much time should you spend? In my experience, 30 minutes a day is adequate to significantly accelerate your progress towards that objective. Think about it. Your money is the ‘glue’ that holds your financial situation together. Most people will spend more time planning a vacation than planning their personal finances. No wonder so many folks are drowning in financial deep water. Realize that becoming financially astute is a process. As my wife is fond of saying, “Bloom where you are planted”, meaning start wherever you are and bloom from there. A logical place to start is to determine your ‘baseline’…by listing everything you own and owe. To access a form go to the Resource Center at www.WelchGroup.com; click on ‘Links’; then Asset/Liability Review. Next, educate yourself about the in’s and out’s of personal finance. Commit to spending 30 minutes each day learning about personal finance and investments. A good place to start is my ‘9 Secrets to Achieving Financial Freedom’, a free 30-day Internet course that will give you a good foundation from which to build. You can access it at www.StewartWelch.com. There’s also lots of information on the Internet and many great books on the topic.

Ok, I know this might not be your number one fun thing to do in life but each of us has a responsibility to be a good steward of our money. I love this quote from Sir Josiah Stamp, “It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities”. There’s a universal law called the Law of Attention which states, “What you put your attention (focus) on, expands”. Pay attention to your money and watch it grow. Consider thinking of your personal finances in a new way. Think of it as a business you own with the intention of growing it into a big business. If you really did have a business, it would get daily attention. So should your personal finances.

How would I cross-relate the Secret of Financial Focus to my own ultimate fitness quest…my personal goal of losing 20 lbs of body fat in 40 days? Simply drop the ‘Financial’ and insert ‘Health & Fitness’. I’m focusing daily attention on what I eat as well as exercise. For me it’s been focusing on one day at a time. “What do I need to focus on TODAY to move me towards my health and fitness goal?” Check out my results…then realize you too can use the Secret of Financial Focus to transform your financial circumstances. Or you can use the same concept to transform your own heath and fitness in just 40 days! For your fitness transformation, visit www.UltimateFitnessQuest.com.

Stewart's 20 Day Update on his Ultimate Fitness Quest

Achieving Financial Freedom - Part 3

9 Secrets of Achieving Financial Freedom - Part 2

What does it take to achieve financial freedom? What does it take to achieve anything that you truly desire? Most people haven’t a clue. I spent thirty years studying people who have achieved extraordinary success and found that they each consciously or unconsciously do and think differently from everyone else. I call these the 9 Secrets of Achieving Financial Freedom. Last week, I discussed the first two secrets: the Secret of Decision and the Secret of Total Commitment. To achieve any worthy objective it first requires that you decide what you want and then make a total commitment to making it happen. Not every successful person does this but you will increase your chances of success many-fold if you write it down. This leads me to the third secret; the Secret of Clarity. You must have a crystal clear vision of what you want to do, become or have. The clearer the picture, the easier it will be to attain. The Secret of Clarity includes seeing yourself ‘as-if’ you already are that which you wish to be. It’s ‘imagining’ yourself into the future to that time when you are what you set out to become. Your mind will then begin to make decisions towards that reality.

Perhaps my favorite story of clarity relates to a struggling Asian actor. In 1970, in a letter to himself, he wrote, “By 1980, I will be the best known oriental movie star in the United States and will have secured $10 million dollars. In return, I will give the very best acting I could possibly give every time I’m in front of the camera…” In 1973 Bruce Lee completed the film Enter the Dragon and became in instant mega-star and martial arts legend. Through hard work, Bruce Lee became who he had to become to be that mega star. And I love that he included what he’d give back in return.

It is said that the human mind makes a wonderful slave but a terrible master. What you tell your mind often enough, it believes. Successful people learn to control their thoughts so that roadblocks to success become ‘challenges’. And everyone loves a challenge.

In applying the Secret of Clarity in your personal finances, get perfectly clear on exactly what success looks like for you. Is it being debt free? Is it being financially free? And what exactly does each of these mean for you? Certainly ten people would arrive at ten very different answers.

I’m currently using the 9 secrets to transform my own heath and fitness over a 40-day period. I made the decision, am totally committed and have perfect clarity around what I intend to achieve. Using proper nutrition and exercise I’ll slash 20lbs of unwanted body fat and reduce my waistline three inches. I’m calling it the Ultimate Fitness Quest and invite you to join me in a quest of your own. A team of health and fitness experts is showing me (and you) how to turn my body into a fat burning furnace. They promise me I’ll never go hungry and won’t have to spend hours in the gym. Apparently, little changes can make a world of difference. If you’d like to join in the fun or just follow along visit www.StewartWelch.com.