Think you’ve never heard any lies about money? How many times have you been told, “If you go to school, do well and get a secure career, you’ll be OK?” Or, “If you work hard and make as much money as possible, you’ll be wealthy and Financially Free.”
Now before you answer, let me ask you this: Are you living your life based on beliefs like these, perhaps working round the clock?
If the answer is “YES,” you’re certainly not alone!
About 80% of people regularly stress out about money to the point that the anxiety infiltrates their daily lives and decisions. What’s more troubling is that an estimated 96% of people never create true financial freedom over their entire working lives. That’s in spite of having been given all kinds of seemingly “great” advice about money from investors, family and society.
At the root of all of this money stress is a lack of clarity about financial freedom—and exactly what you need to achieve it.
Your first step toward Financial Freedom—building a passive income so you reach a point at which you no longer need to work or worry about money—is understanding the most common money lies that circulate around the world.
Three Lies About Money
While there are several, let’s take a closer look at three of them:
Lie #1: Go to school, earn good grades, have a good career, and everything will magically be okay.
I went to school to study medicine because I believed this lie. I thought that somehow, magically, I’d be fine financially as long as I had a good career. The reality is that there are several catastrophic things can happen to us. If, say, something like an illness or injury disrupts your ability to earn an income, the impact could be devastating to your family. Many people who believe this lie end up working hard to make money in careers they are deeply unsatisfied with. Having to trade your time for money in a career you dislike isn’t OK. In fact, dissatisfaction with your career will become unhappiness in the rest of your life.
Lie #2: If someone looks successful, they must be.
We are conditioned to believe success means living in a huge house, driving a high-end car, wearing designer clothes and educating our children at the best schools. In reality, success and freedom have little to do with how much money you make. Success is really about how much money you’re able to keep. And how you make your money work for you so you can buy your time back.
Lie #3: I need to become wealthy to be free.
So many people focus too much on their net worth. They spend a lot of time worrying about whether their properties have increased in value or what the stock market is doing on a particular day. In reality, net worth doesn’t tell you much. While the paper value of one person’s assets might have increased, you can’t take your assets to the shops and buy groceries with them. Freedom comes when you have real income without having to work for it. Freedom is about sending your money out to work, to create cash flow—not about your supposed net worth.
Unfortunately, this is only the beginning of the financial lies we hear and believe every day. When you realize how many of your money beliefs are lies, you feel a bit sad or perplexed.
But all is not lost.
Taking action now is the best way to recoup lost time and achieve Financial Freedom much sooner than you ever thought possible.
Getting on the right path begins with MindShift.money.
image credit: Bigstock/Maximusnd
Dr. Tony is the co-founder of MindShift.money and the best-selling author of three books on personal and business finances. Having achieved Financial Freedom at 27, Dr. Tony believes that through Financially Fit Bootcamp and Cash Flow Cure everyone can get there. He has made it his life’s mission to help others live a life where their money works for them—not the other way around.