Having A Wealth Mindset

If you want to improve your financial situation and build your Financial Fortress now, it starts with having a "wealth mindset."

First and foremost, you need to have a positive outlook on life.  If you find yourself saying "I can't do that" or "I can never get ahead," you are creating negative energy that will naturally inhibit you from reaching your wealth-building goals.  On the other hand, if you surround yourself with positive people, thoughts and messages and always think in a positive way, you can change the conversation in your mind to "HOW can I do that?" or "HOW can I get ahead?"

The second element to a wealth mindset is having financial discipline.  This means developing a reasonable monthly budget, sticking to it and paying yourself first.  The easiest way to pay yourself first is to contribute to your 401(k) at work so you never even see the money.  Keeping to a budget helps you stay focused on your spending and allows you to make choices.  Even if you may have plenty of money or credit, you will want to force yourself to choose when it's time to spend money on something.  The more the item costs, the more thought needs to be put into whether it is needed or not and how much you really want to spend on it.  Will a used car be good enough versus getting a new car?  Do you have to buy the nicest house or rent the nicest apartment or is something more modest adequate?  Do you have to eat at the finest restaurants and wear designer clothes or can you get by with family style dining and sweats?

The third element to a wealth mindset is reflection.  I often find by thinking about things before going to bed or taking long walks and mulling things over can help me develop new ideas and strategies to overcome obstacles and achieve my goals.  It also helps me prioritize things and solidify my financial plan.  Having quiet time to yourself is also very important to help you focus and let your own natural creativity help you.  For example, I wanted to invest in real estate during the Great Recession, but I didn't have any cash.  By putting my mind to it, I realized I could tap into my IRA to get started investing and I did just that.

The fourth element to a wealth mindset is persistence.  When I was trying to buy properties during the Great Recession, it was very competitive and I had to be relentless with offers in order to get deals.  Many times my offers were rejected.  There were many setbacks, but eventually I was able to purchase four properties in all.  Life will often deal you setbacks, but that's also where having a persistent mindset is important.  Sometimes all it takes is a little more effort, one last push and you can overcome the obstacles you face and you can succeed.  Failure is simply a learning experience and should never be allowed to define what you have set out to do.

By combining these four elements together, you can develop a wealth mindset that can ultimately help you successfully Build Your Financial Fortress. 

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