I recently read a great book by MJ DeMarco entitled “Unscripted” (you can read my review HERE). In this amazing book, Mr. DeMarco explains his money philosophy and how he manages his business and his wealth. He makes some pretty good arguments, and I would like to explore one of his concepts.

Making Money

MJ DeMarco is an entrepreneur at heart and he made his money from his business. He did very well and we all could learn from his advice. But I am not sure everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur so his money philosophy might not be one size fits all. 

His theory is:

1. Make money from a business - This can be any business, and he offers an amazing blueprint to do so in his first book, The Millionaire Fastlane. I count this book as one of my top 5 personal finance books of all time. He believes this is the fastest and most sound way to achieve financial independence. I can’t disagree.

2. Once you have money, then you should put it into passive investments. He suggests buying dividend earning stocks and enjoying the monthly distributions. This is similar to what I suggest in my first book BYOB: Be Your Own Bank.

Although he suggests passive income as a way to preserve your wealth and enjoy the spoils of your hard work, it can also be part of the “making money” phase as well. 

I offer strategies to grow your wealth while you are working at your business or your full time job. You can do this while you are earning. It helps to be able to see progress and to be able to calculate your retirement date. 

The beauty of my system is that you can start small and invest like the rich do before you are rich. You will have a way to help yourself be financially independent eventually, while learning the rules that the ultra-wealthy live by now. 

Another fantastic way to preserve your wealth is through real estate investing. Buying a rental property is a great way to protect your money and earn income. Most rich people have real estate as a significant portion of their portfolio. However, real estate is expensive to get into, as coming up with a down payment can be difficult for many people who are just trying to make ends meet every month.

In my BYOB system, you can use the same investing strategies that real estate investors do, but without the need to start with a lot of money, and it also eliminates many of the headaches that come with being a landlord. 

Once you have acquired a significant amount of wealth, then your options are many for ways to invest and generate passive income. To be fair, having large sums of money opens up options for just about everything, so it really does make things easier for life in general. It is getting to that point that is a little more difficult. I believe my BYOB system is a way that is accessible to everyone, no matter their financial circumstances. 

Often times people just need a little nudge in the right direction to start an investing plan, to do anything to improve their circumstances. Whether you need to adopt a healthier lifestyle though diet and exercise, or leave a dead end job, you sometimes need more than just the “how”; you need a significant “Why” in order to find the motivation to begin. That is why I wrote my second book “Invest in Yourself” It offers you the “why” part that is missing from “how to” books on investing and wealth creation. 

If you are struggling financially and are feeling like you are on a never ending treadmill, my books may offer hope. They extend a helping hand to lift you up from your situation and guide you into a new life of self empowerment and financial acumen. You can also get a step by step guide to creating a fortune by taking my online course.

Financial education is the key to freedom. You have to know what is possible before you can begin.

This is so powerful in that it feels great to help someone become all that they can be. It makes so much more sense to help people grow than to just bail them out. It also feels so much better for the recipient to rise to new heights through their own self improvement vs. being given a handout. You can accomplish much more than you think. Nothing feels better than becoming more than you were before. 

So don’t wait until you “have” money to invest money.  

Begin now. 

Educate yourself, and follow through. 

You don’t have to wait to be rich. You can be rich while getting rich.