When it comes to creating wealth I have an expression that people might be tired of hearing; “Wealth is a team sport, not a solo sport.” Along those lines, I read two books that flesh out HOW to create and use a team to support you in creating a life of financial prosperity.
Both books are by the same five authors; one has the title Change Anything, and the other has the title Influencer. What each book outlines are six areas that when all of them are used it will allow people to change almost any human behavior. Actually, I don’t know if there is a human behavior that can’t be changed when these six areas of support are utilized. The Influencer book is about how YOU can become a master of influence by putting into practice those six areas.
When all six of the areas are utilized you can stop smoking, end overeating, get off drugs, get out of debt, get promotions at work, and even create financial prosperity.
The authors’ extensive research validates the same things I have been speaking about for over 25 years.
Over the next six articles, I will cover each one of the six areas that can create powerful and lasting change, and NOT one of them has to do with willpower.
Here is a list of the six areas:
1. Personal Motivation
2. Personal Ability
3. Social Motivation
4. Social Ability
5. Structural Motivation
6. Structural Ability
This is article #1 of the series and we will talk about what Personal Motivation means. I will talk about how each area only applies to creating financial abundance.
You can apply it to any other area that you choose.
Let’s say you want to get out of debt, save money, invest money and create Complete Financial Choice™.
This is where you can choose to work if you want or choose not to work. You can also choose to donate your time and/or money to the charities or causes that touch your heart, and so on; Complete Financial Choice™.
However, here’s an example of what you face when you want to change your behavior:
First, you get offers in the mail for another credit card. Then you see on the TV an ad for some gadget that will make your life better. You turn off the TV and on the radio, you hear an ad for the same, or a different gadget, book or program that will make your life better…
So you turn off the radio and check your emails and see the banner ads for the gadgets that will make your life better. Or you get emails because of some website that you looked at yesterday and they want you to buy the gadget from them. Then PayPal tells you about their new program where you don’t have to pay right away. You’ve had enough and get in the car to get some milk, and on the way to the store, you stop at a traffic signal…
Just ahead you see a billboard advertising that gadget that will make your life better. You turn your head away from the billboard and see the same ad for the same gadget on the bus bench next to you.
Can you see how you are bombarded with advertisements that scream at you from every direction to buy this and buy that, and if you don’t your life won’t amount to anything?
If you buy this beer you’ll get beautiful models to fawn over you. If you don’t whiten your teeth no man or woman will speak to you. It’s absurd. But I guess it works, or companies wouldn’t spend the money on all that advertising.
So, do you think that you can solve this with your willpower? Give me a break! I realized many years ago that I was not going to be able to get myself out of debt and create financial independence unless I got the support of some people who had achieved what I wanted to achieve. It worked for me, it worked for the clients I coached, and it works for anyone when they apply the six areas of support.
You can literally change anything you want in your life.
Some people can get caught up in the semantics, like change versus transformation. I don’t care if you want to change your life or transform your life, using all six of these areas is where your power will come from.
Today I am only going to explain one of the areas; Personal Motivation. Please be aware that if you want to truly move forward in life, please consider this analogy:
Say you are in a rowboat and you stay on one side and just paddle, you will go around in circles. But if you have three people on each side, and each one is paddling in the same direction, can you see how easy and fast it would be to move forward?
That is the difference between you trying to change something by yourself versus having six people working together to support you toward the same goal. Just using one area of support is not enough. You need to apply all six areas to make a permanent transformation.
The obvious first area you need to have is the personal motivation to change.
You want to tap into what you want, what’s important to you, and your desires. It’s important here to discover your own value system and have it be conscious. You may value family, or learning or integrity, but you have to write it down and make it real.
If you want to get out of debt, write down why: Does it keep you up at night? Do you stress about making payments on your credit card(s)? Do you fear if you lose one paycheck you won’t have the money for rent, utilities or food?
What is it that has you concerned? Do you not even know where to start or how to begin?
Your mind is a dangerous place to go alone, but this is where you have to start. Just write down the concerns; get it out of your head and onto a piece of paper. That alone will make you feel better; I guarantee it.
In the next article I will talk about how the second area works: Personal Ability.
To Your Prosperity,
Rennie
Often in the media and in a recent TEDx Talk, Rennie Gabriel supports individuals and business owners to create work as a choice, instead of a requirement, just as he did for himself. Rennie had gone broke twice (two divorces), but using the same concepts published in his book, Rennie created more wealth in each recovery than what he had prior.
As a highly rated instructor at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), Rennie uses his award-winning, best-selling book, Wealth On Any Income, to teach effective money skills from both the emotional/psychological aspects as well as the practical components. His book has been translated into five languages. Rennie is a retired Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) and often adds BFD to his credentials.
His extensive knowledge of real estate and finance is useful not only to those who own or invest in real estate but to anyone striving for a better life by trying to achieve financial freedom.
His clients range from financial professionals, like CPAs, stock brokers, and financial planning firms, to entrepreneurs in the transformational space (coaches, authors, and speakers). He also works with large organizations like the FBI, American National Insurance and Toyota Motors.
After 40 successful years in financial services, Rennie now works to donate 100% of the profits from his speaking fees, wealth programs, books and business coaching to charities, the primary one is www.ShelterToSoldier.org where dogs are rescued, trained and donated as service animals for soldiers with PTSD and TBI (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injuries)