Changing My Belief System

In early 2001, I was a normal twenty-something and loved to spend money. I worked in a resort town as a fine dining restaurant server and was bringing in about $100 in tips and $40 in wages each day. I made a lot of money (for a university student) and also spent a lot of money. When talking with my family I can distinctly remember saying,

if I can have a lot more fun now and it only costs me $100 or so in interest then I’d say it’s worth it.

At that time, I had a credit card balance of about $6,500 and, other than a snowboard, I had very little to show for it.

It wasn’t long afterwards that my mother handed me a book about personal finance called The Wealthy Barber. I sat in my living room with a fire burning and read it cover to cover through the night. I’m not sure how soon after reading the book I started to change my mentality but it wasn’t very long and it was drastic.

Since 2001, I have made a consistent effort to read everything I can about personal finance, mortgages, real estate, investing, goal setting, strategy, wealth creation and retiring young but it was that first book that completely changed who I was and what I believed. Before this book, I was the official ‘spend now and worry later’ type. As we all know, this leads to high debt and no way to grow your wealth and retire young.

After thinking about my own story, I realized that creating wealth really isn’t about the amount of money you make. It’s all about the attitude and belief system that you hold. If I had the same ideas about spending money today, I would have a very different financial statement and balance sheet. It’s very strange to look back and have a defining moment in your life that changed who you are. Is it a cliché to say that I owe it all to my parents?

Finding a Mentor and Increasing Wealth

When dealing with success, one sure way to move yourself forward is to find a mentor that will move you forward. When I say this, I don’t mean that you need to go out and hire a high priced personal or professional coach. What I mean is that you need to find people that are succeeding in the area you are and model their success!

When I started looking at real estate investing I really needed a good real estate coach. After looking through all the available authors, I stumbled upon Robert G. Allen. The best part was that he had a summer place in the same area as I did. In fact, I had actually met him a number of times before I realized who he was!

I decided to take him on as a mentor. I read everything he wrote and listened to free seminars. I even attended a few of his events. Through it all, I was pushed forward and learned so much just from modeling a expert in the field.

In your area of success, I would suggest that you do the same thing. If you are interested in real estate investing then get advice from the likes of Robert G. Allen or Raymond Aaron. If you prefer to make your money online with blogging, try someone like John Chow at John Chow dot Com. Read what they have written and follow their advice.

Remember, a mentor does not need to be someone who sits next to you each day and holds your hand. A mentor is any person who, through their actions or lessons, help move you forward towards your goals. If you can successfully integrate mentors into your investing or wealth creation, you will have a jump start on others who falsely believe they need to do it on their own.