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How to Create Real Wealth

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Contents

Acknowledgments........................................................xiIntroduction...........................................................xiiiChapter 1 Set Investment Goals.......................................19Financial Responsibility...............................................20Financial and Spiritual Net Worth Analysis.............................23A Vision For Your Future...............................................26Chapter 2 Secure Good Advisors.......................................35Your Financial Advisor.................................................35Your Eternal Advisor...................................................42Chapter 3 Diversify Your Investments.................................47Invest in a Healthy Environment........................................48Invest in a Healthy Mind...............................................64Invest in a Healthy Body...............................................66Invest in Self-Esteem..................................................75Invest in a Good Man...................................................77Invest in a Healthy Single Life........................................87Invest in Your Marriage Relationship...................................95Invest in Healthy Family Relationships.................................110Invest in Your Gifts and Talents.......................................117Invest in Becoming a Better You........................................126Chapter 4 Anticipate Volatility......................................143Be Willing to Embrace Change...........................................144Be Willing to Face Challenges..........................................147Chapter 5 Know When to Sell..........................................157Risk Tolerance.........................................................157Letting Go of Unhealthy Marriage Relationships.........................159Letting Go of Unhealthy Family Relationships...........................162Letting Go of Difficult People.........................................164Letting Go of Thoughts and Ideas.......................................167Letting Go of Gifts and Talents........................................168The Selling Process....................................................169Chapter 6 Develop Wisdom in Spending and Lending.....................175Spending Should be Planned.............................................177Spending Should be Smart...............................................178Spending Should Leave Room For Saving..................................181Be a Cautious Lender...................................................185Chapter 7 Make Charitable Contributions..............................189The Principle of Giving and Receiving..................................189My Story...............................................................191Epilogue...............................................................201

Chapter One

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Are you at a place where wealth and prosperity are heavy on your mind? Perhaps you've been laid off from a job you invested years of time and effort in, and perhaps this has caused you to consider your current financial status. Because you failed to invest in saving for a rainy day, you're now wondering how things got to this point. You keep going over and over in your mind all of those hefty paychecks you brought home and all of the times you planned to put money into your savings account, but didn't. Instead, you invested your money in things that now seem frivolous to you, like a new car when you really didn't need it, new furniture you didn't really need, a new pool and deck in the backyard, and now you realize you seldom even go out in the backyard, and not to mention all the other unnecessary purchases you made. You are in emotional turmoil thinking about what you should have done.

Stop beating yourself up. We've all made bad investments in life. Investments we wish we hadn't made, or even investments we should have made but didn't. We all have chapters of our lives we wish we could rewrite, and the good news is, we can rewrite those chapters. However, before you rewrite the pages of your life, change the way you think about money and wealth. If you don't change the way you think, you'll write the same old lines over and over again.

What many do not recognize is, money is simply a tool to be used for the exchange of goods and services that we believe we need to survive. Money is not some type of idol we worship and hold on to. Perhaps you've attached your identity to the amount of money you make. You believe that what you possess, rather than who you are, is a reflection of your level of character. This seems to have become the norm for many. Many have gone far beyond simple purchases that take care of the basic needs of life. They feel that without material possessions, they would be worthless.

Financial Responsibility

As you seek to attract financial wealth, perhaps you should put some things into perspective. Financial wealth is good. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having this. Financial wealth can bring convenience into your life. It can pay the bills and keep you from worrying and stressing over whether or not the lights are going to get turned off. If you are a person who would say, "I don't need financial wealth," you should question your motives. That may be true. You can certainly live without it. But make sure you're not using this as a cover-up for your feelings of unworthiness, or feeling like you're not capable of achieving financial wealth. You can achieve this. But, you can't achieve it by chasing after it. Have you ever given up on looking for something, and as soon as you stopped looking for it and focused on something else, it showed up? That's kind of the way achieving financial wealth works. When you stop looking for it on the outside and turn your focus inward, perhaps then it will show up.

If you are one who loves money, and you constantly struggle with not having enough, you are spending way too much time focusing on what you don't have. "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless" (Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV). Many newly married couples fall into this trap. They get married with nothing, and as soon as money gets into their hands they make this an opportunity to get material possessions they don't have, and really don't need. They call it a necessary purchase, when it's actually an unnecessary fear-driven purchase. It's fear-driven because they buy out of fear they may not get the opportunity again. They feel they need to get it while they can. These unnecessary material purchases leave them with unpaid bills, car repossessions and evictions. If this is your life, you will forever engage in money chasing, and will never achieve financial wealth. Listen to the wise man, Solomon. "Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle" (Proverbs 23:4-5 NIV). If you want to achieve financial wealth, strive to be a better person. Focus on striving for excellence in all areas of your life. Focus on personal development and spiritual maturity. Financial wealth...