Working for money is the first step. Making money work for you is the last step.

Let me give you my best tip to get better sleep: Go to bed at night with pillows of cash. 

Ok, maybe not literal pillows. But go to bed at night with pillows of cash in money-generating investments. Trust me, you will sleep well.

One of the best feelings in the world is knowing you have no debts. When you have no debts you have no worries. The feeling compounds and when your money is put to work. Tension melts away when you know money comes easy.

Cash sitting in checking accounts is just money awaiting orders. Cash turned into depreciating assets is an army that is experiencing attrition. Eventually, you will be left with no soldiers. Every dollar needs to be given an order that will help you reach your long-term goal of Financial Independence. 

Put your money to work immediately. Command it. Let’s learn how…

The Power of Investing

I want to explore some scenarios.

Assume you are 25 and have no money invested.

Scenario 1: If you took $100 per month and placed it into a savings account it would be worth $55,000 in 40 years. That’s nice but we are not generating enough soldiers. I want soldiers to be cloned effectively while we sleep. We want more.

Scenario 2: If you took $100 per month and invested in basic index funds. It would be worth roughly $700,000 in 40 years. That’s a lot of soldiers and $100 per month is not even a sacrifice. You can cut Cable TV and make that happen immediately.

Scenario 3: I like to think big. What if you became a badass and rebelled against society? Let’s assume you made a conscious effort to not be a sucker consumer. What if you took $2K per month and invested it? It would be worth well over $12,000,000. That is not a typo. That is generational wealth.

No deep esoteric knowledge is required. No high-risk investments are even needed.

The only ingredient required is discipline.

Mindset Shift: A Net-Worth Perspective

You might be asking yourself, “How do I get started?”

Let me give you a BIG tip. Think of EVERYTHING from a net-worth perspective. Net-worth trumps ALL financial statistics. If your net-worth is allocated properly it can become the source of your income stream. 

Take a look around your house. Everything has value. You didn’t just buy something. You took action and made a conscious decision to turn your money into a thing.

I want you to assess what you own. Literally take stock of your house.

PS4: $400

Sofa: $1200

Television: $1500

Fancy iMac: $2500

Full-Size Truck: $50000

All of these are depreciating assets. They are keeping you broke and they will NEVER generate more soldiers. It all adds up. If you feel like you are not gaining traction you need to liquify your assets.

Take charge of your army. Put assets into play. Have them work for you. 

Three Steps to Building your Net-Worth

Step One:  Passive Investing

The best time to invest is today. Literally, get started right now. Retirement accounts have tremendous tax advantages. These accounts will quickly build your wealth. If you do not take advantage of this your progress will take longer.

The other side benefit to tax-sheltered passive investing is that they do all the work for you. Once you get the account started you can focus on other projects while these soldiers are being built.

Start a side hustle. Secure a rental property. You can focus on larger projects because your main asset builder requires zero attention.

Utilize these accounts immediately. Get to work. Set them up.

Step Two: Automate your Investments.

Once you have excellent cash flow automate your savings. Cash flow exists to build your net-worth.

I set everything up automatically.  I personally never trust myself to save money. So, my investments are taken out of my paycheck directly. When payday comes around my money is automatically saved. Set it up properly and you will never even think about it.

Keep it simple.

Step Three:  Adopt the Stoic Mindset

Discipline is key. Your net-worth will not increase overnight. You need to build a foundation and let it ride. Adopt a stoic mindset to help become your armor verse a world that wants you broke

I recommend two books. The first is Tactical Stoicism. This other is A Guide to the Good Life. Both are great options to learn about this stoic mindset.

Remember the long-term goal is financial independence, freedom, and stability.

No one is entitled to retirement. You have to earn it.