10 Rules of the Rich – written by Natalie Pace
1. Give yourself a raise.
10% of your net income should go on auto-deposit into your 401(k), IRA, health savings account, etc. Period. Stop whining, complaining or procrastinating. It’s tax deductible. Pay yourself now, or pay the IRS later. And if you don’t know how to invest, put it in a FDIC-insured savings or money market account while you educate yourself.
2. Be charitable.
Tithe 10% to charity. Fuel your favorite cause with your cash and reap the benefits of helping your community, of networking with others who have like-minded goals and of the tax write-off! Pay your favorite charity now, or pay the IRS later. Every rock star, including Bono, Sting and Mary J. Blige, know the value of this!
3. Educate yourself, your family and others.
Education is the single highest correlating factor with income. So invest in your education. Surgeons make more money than gardeners, and surgeons who have educated themselves about investing make greater gains than those who invest blindly (or not at all). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, full-time workers without a high school diploma earned $465/week on average in June of 2009, compared to $1,140 for a Bachelor’s Degree, and $2,130/week (women) to $3,434/week (men) for professionals with a master’s or higher. Find a way to put money aside for your education. Typically that means cutting your costs in the basic needs department. College students might consider sleeping on a couch for a few years, in order to earn double the income for life!
4. Have fun.
Here are the goods. Health is wealth. You can’t earn a great living if you can’t get out of bed. And if you want to really have great results, you need to be a great team player. So, your time on the golf course, on the tennis court or on the racetrack means that you’re going to be more fun to be around – someone whom others want to interact with and do business with! Exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health and beauty, and pleasure is a free endorphin that releases anti-oxidants that keep you youthful and sexy. Beautiful reasons to have some fun today!
5. Double your pleasure.
Double your fun budget! Make sure that you are taking 10%-20% of your income for FUN! I take 10% out in cash and spend it until it’s gone. The other 10% I save up for a year to do something really adventurous. It makes working so much more pleasurable when I am anticipating exactly how I’m going to enrich my own life as a result. (In 2009, I spent a month in Italy!)
6. Stop complaining.
Some people say, “I spend my fun money on my home.” That’s cool, but then stop complaining that you don’t take vacations and start enjoying your home more. Can you have artist salons, or a front porch bayou Bluegrass party where someone blows on a jug and another plays spoons? A barbecue and three-legged race? A monthly yoga potluck dinner? Make sure that you are enjoying what you own, otherwise your retail therapy isn’t working!
7. Basic needs must be under 50%, including taxes.
Ha! Think this is impossible? Guess which ethnic group is the highest income earner in the U.S. in 2009. Before I reveal the answer, I want to point out that this group was one of the lowest wage earners in the U.S. at the turn of the last century. How did one ethnic group rise from the gutter to the palace so quickly? By focusing on education and dramatically reducing basic needs expenditures. If two families had to live in a two-bedroom apartment so that the kids could go to medical school, they did that. And now, Asian men make a weekly income that is 21% higher than whites and almost double the weekly income of blacks and Hispanics. (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 16, 2009)
8. Think partner, not competitor.
In 2006, Universal Music Group was posturing to sue MySpace and YouTube for posting their videos free of charge. In June of 2009, UMG and YouTube announced a new channel, utilizing the YouTube technical platform and portal. YouTube is the 4th most trafficked site in the U.S., but UMG has the great artists and videos. Smart move! Remember back in the 70s when mega-department stores decided to create the malls! By teaming up to put everything you need in one place, all of the retail stores benefit. What can you do to partner up with your competitors and create a win-win for everyone?
9. Dream bigger.
When John D. Rockefeller went into the oil business, in 1863, no one dreamed of freeways and that Exxon Mobil would be worth almost half a trillion dollars. When Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page began perfecting online search, most people were still on dial-up. When President John F. Kennedy promised to walk on the moon, it still took a week to mail a letter from New York to San Francisco. What great dream do you have? What can you do now to start on the path of creating it?
10. 21 days off the grid.
Stuck in a rut? Got a bad habit that is taking you out at the knees? 21 days is all you need to create new possibilities. Seven days is only a vacation from the status quo. Two weeks is a tease/tiptoe toward the edge of new ideas. 21 days is where new habits and thought patterns become ingrained. If you have never been on a 21-day sabbatical, there is no greater or more fun way to expand your possibilities and your thinking. In fact, I’ve created a 21-day Walk to Wealth Consciousness coaching call series, which is FREE for retreat attendees. Call 866.476.7442 to enact a new way of living for yourself!
So, sing your song… loudly. Dance as if everyone is watching. They are… (on Facebook. And Twitter. And YouTube. And BlogTalkRadio…) And become the rock star of your own dream life.
About Natalie Pace:
Natalie Pace, is the author of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is and CEO of one of the most respected, independently owned financial news corporations in the U.S. She has been ranked as a #1 stock picker from TipsTraders.com.
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