Rich People Know Something You Need to Know!

Why do others seem to live an abundant life but, for you, an abundant life is always out of reach? The answer is simple: People who have abundant lives know something you don't know and they do something you aren't doing.

I am always amazed, often saddened, by a simple fact of life that many people do not realize. Let me illustrate it with a short example of a real life couple who have not learned How To Have Abundance. As you read their story you may be tempted to think this doesn't apply to you. Please, give me the benefit of the doubt and read the entire article. It will only take a few minutes and you just might learn something about your own situation because this really does apply to just about everyone.

Billy and Jen (ficticious names but real people) live in a constant state of poverty. In spite of advice from people who have abundance, they listen instead to people just like them, people who are always broke. I mean, do you consult with a Plumber about brain surgery? Do you ask a high school dropout to help you write a Doctoral Thesis? You get the point.

Billy and Jen are constantly buying used vehicles that are "great deals", vehicles that break down within weeks and now sit in their yard, unfixable. They get ripped off again and again.

Billy and Jen also rent their furniture, TV, and appliances just to have the newest thing, all the while they are draining their limited budget. Billy buys "girlie" magazines, drinks beer by the case, and Jen buys just about everything put in front of her at house parties because they are "bargains". On top of this they are always giving their kids money because their kids, like them, are always broke. It's a vicious cycle. Poverty breeds poverty.

Here is first golden rule that people with abundance follow: "If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got!". You see, people who have abundance learned how to stop going broke and learned How To Have Abundance! Now, what they always do are things that generate abundance and they always get abundance. It's like sowing and reaping. A farmer plants a seed for corn and he gets a crop of corn. What you plant, you get.

This is not the old "budget your money" blah, blah, blah or "save you money" blah, blah, blah routine. Budgeting and saving are certainly keys to having abundance. Learning about your spending habits, where each dollar goes, is vital to having an abundant lifestyle. Getting out of debt is another key. But, none of that will work unless you first change your mental attitude about abundance.

First, you must develop a positive attitude about abundance before any plan will work. This is a mental attitude that will make you determined to have everything, within reasonable limits, that you want in life. In short, the correct mental attitude to have is: "If I always do things to create abundance, I will always have abundance!".

Now, let me give you another rule that people who have abundance follow: They ask themselves - "Do I need this or just want this?". They ask this question before they spend a dollar on anything.

It's nice to want the latest things and to buy the latest things. But, if you buy them before you can really afford them, especially on credit, you become a slave to them. The glow of newness fades quickly but the monthly bill keeps coming long after the "thingy" was sold for pennies in your garage sale. You know what I'm talking about.

Let me ask you: "What have you bought that made you feel good when you bought it that still makes you feel good?". Not much, right?

My wife and I have lived by these rules for the past 10 years. We both came out of marriages where having things was more important and we were basically always in debt. Living by these abundance rules has allowed us to have everything we can possibly need or want, within reasonable limits of course. What do I mean by "reasonable limits"?

I would love to have a new (even used!) Mercedes. This is a fine piece of machinery. It would be great for my ego, too. But, It would be a useless drain on our budget and on our savings plan for retirement. Get the idea?

Do I need a Mercedes - NO! In fact, I recently retired and sold my car because, frankly, I don't need a car. We still have a late model car (it was paid off within 2 years by the way) because my wife has a few more years to work. I personally don't need a car anymore. We saved a lot of money getting rid of that extra set of wheels.

We are out of debt, except for a Home Mortgage, and have built a nice retirement plan. We are very comfortable financially because we applied the abundance rules in this article. Oh, that Mortgage will also be paid off soon so that my wife can take early retirement. In fact, by the time you read this article it may already be paid off.

Let's boil it down: How Do You Have Abundance?

1) Adopt a positive mental attitude about having abundance

2) Do things to create abundance

3) Buy only what you need for as long as it takes for you to get out of debt.

It's just that simple.

Yours for Success in Life!
Jim DeSantis