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During college, one of Aaron and my closest friends made a comment that still haunts me to this day. I was explaining that if you own a share of The Coca-Cola Company, you actually receive a proportionate cut of the company’s profits on every single can of Coke sold. This makes sense, after all … if a business is divided into 100 shares outstanding, and you own 1 share, you own 1% of the company. If you own all 100 shares, you would own the entire business and get all of the profit, right? For me, this falls into the, “We hold these truths to be self-evident” category.
From the time I was a kid and had only a few thousand dollars in the bank, I have wanted a Bosendorfer Strauss model grand piano, probably in a 7 foot size (which is comparable to a Steinway & Sons Model B semi-concert grand). Yet, the list price is $111,080 plus you’d be looking at sales tax of roughly $8,331 for a grand total of $119,411. The time value of money opportunity cost of buying a Bosendorfer Strauss grand piano, then is enormous.
Early in life, I developed a theory that there were five levels of building wealth that most self-made men (and women) go through to reach financial independence. The theory began due to my love for Carl Barks Scrooge McDuck comics.
I believe one of the signs of a life well lived is the fact that you wake up every morning and jump out of bed because you can’t wait to spend your time focusing on something that makes every part of you – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – satisfied. This is going to be different for everyone.
Everyone focuses on the stuff the rich people collect. Yet, the biggest secret is that the rich are really collectors of rents, royalties, dividends, and interest. Whether song rights, hotel ownership, businesses, sales commissions, stocks, timberland, or patents, these are the things they truly amass.
Here’s how you can find investment ideas using an example from my own family’s experience running a successful sporting goods store.
A member of my family has been using a technique to build substantial wealth that doesn’t require a high income or any specialized knowledge, extra work, or effort. I was so impressed by the way he implemented this program, I thought I would share it with my other family and friends (as well as anyone else who reads my blog) without giving away who it is.
I was up until 6:30 this morning reading Stop Acting Rich … By Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D., the author of the incredibly successful The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind. It’s remarkable because so much of what the “average” millionaire did to achieve his or her wealth is exactly, precisely the same things I, and members of my own family, did to become financially independent.
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