Sometimes, we all need a mindset reset. This includes me.
James Clear (author of Atomic Habits) says there are four types of wealth:
- Financial Wealth (money)
- Social Wealth (status)
- Time Wealth (freedom)
- Physical Wealth (health)
Be wary of jobs that seduce you with 1 and 2, but rob you of 3 and 4.
Some paychecks aren’t compensation. They’re a bribe from an employer to give up your dreams.
Live life full-time
Early in your career, delayed gratification makes sense.
You need capital formation.
You need down payments.
You need dry powder.
Totally fair.
But there’s a point that most people miss.
The point where delayed gratification quietly mutates into denied gratification.
That’s when “I’ll do it later” becomes “I guess I never did it at all.”
They look up at 65 and realize they’ve got a respectable title, still wear Dockers, have a 401(k) they must pay tax on, and knees that creak louder than the front door.
They’ll never get that time back.
You need to get to the point where you can be more frugal with your time than your money.
Younger people have a harder time adopting this mindset because they have more time and less money.
Sooner than later, you must desperately get financially-free so you can be yourself.
Workaholics optimize income instead of assets.
Labor doesn’t compound. Capital does.
Your quality of life will exceed your cost of living when your life is funded by what you own, not by what you do.
You can either be a conformer or you can build wealth.
When you invest in real estate that pays five ways, it’s like you’re buying future Tuesdays you never have to work again.
Your $2.5M portfolio is passively doing the same work as someone who sells 40-50 hours a week of their life away for a $100K a year salary.
Hokay… so…
… while this is all thought-provoking, it can risk sounding airy and philosophical.
We’ve cued the acoustic guitar music and slow-motion B-roll of someone pensively gazing at a sunset.
What’s the concrete plan?
With modest means, who really gets a $2.5M real estate portfolio before they’re old, anyway?
Check out our Podcast Episode from February 16th, where I explore how a shift in mindset can change the way you build wealth.
