Personal Investment Reflection
10 Reasons Why We Should Rethink How to Build Our Wealth
Chris Lee Susanto, Founder at Re-ThinkWealth.com
21 September 2018
I am 25 years old this year and I am always fascinated by how a change in our thinking can result in a huge change in our wealth. I am convinced by the notion that how we think creates the wealth that we have. And writing has been an integral part of it all because it gives me an avenue to pen down my thoughts through this blog digitally. Today, I have the urge to write down reasons why we should always rethink how to build our wealth. Because I have always believed that wealth building is never a linear path forward, with the advent of technology and the pace of change in today’s society, here are 10 reasons why we should rethink how to build our wealth:
1. Digital Society
We are currently in a society where everything is going digital. This creates tremendous opportunity to grow our wealth leveraging on digital means. But not only digital means, but it is also the digital lifestyle and habits. For example, you may be reading my current post from a Facebook group or my LinkedIn post. This is a habit of yours and this is how media is being transmitted in today’s society. Think about how you can leverage this habits of people to create wealth.
2. Age is No Longer a Barrier
Of course, the fact is that most people fail in business. But it is also a fact that there are people who succeed even though they are still very young in age (<30). I have seen many success stories that are made possible today because of the various opportunities that these young people take advantage of (Bitcoin, Startups etc (even though I am not a fan of Bitcoin, see my write-up here). If you are hungry and you are young, you can still build the crazy amount of wealth now.
3. Humans are Comforted by Familiarity
We as humans are very comfortable when we are used to something. We rarely want change. Change creates friction and friction sucks. But it is also with this knowledge of familiarity breeds comfort that we can rarely grow if we do the same thing over and over again. So we should always rethink what are we doing now to grow our wealth and what are the other options out there. Do it if you are able to, even if it is something that is uncomfortable.
4. Know about Compound Action
I have always believed that there is action and there is compound action. We can take one minute to do action A and get $1. Using the same one minute, we can do action B and get $100,000 instead. Focus on doing more of action B which I call the compound action. This kind of thinking will force us to think about how we are spending our time – are we spending our time wisely? Can I spend my time on something else that creates more wealth?
5. Things Will Only Get More Expensive
You know about our brother called Mr. Inflation? I am sure you do. Because no matter in which country we are living in, over the years, things will only increase in price. In Singapore, inflation is better, not so high as you can see here at the Trading Economics website. But one thing is for sure, we need to make more every year to beat Mr. Inflation. So unless we start to rethink how we are growing our wealth if we are not satisfied with it yet, nothing will change.
6. We Do Not Have Much Time
Time flies so damn quickly. While enjoying every moment and being grateful is so important, it is also important to have a sense of urgency because before we know it, we would be saying “where has the time gone to?” This has always been one of the great motivators for me to reflect often of how I can grow wealth better and consistently rethink how we are doing it.
7. We Often Overestimate What We Can do in 1 Year and Underestimate What We Can do in 10 Years
If we think we can’t, most likely we are right. I am a believer that everything is so possible only if we focus and set our mind to it. Reflect often, admit mistakes often and learn often. This way, we can set good goals and only God knows what we can achieve in 10 years time. Have faith and work hard. You can achieve more than what you think.
8. There Are So Many Ways to Grow Wealth
For the hammer, everything looks like nails. We both have biases and we see things and do things we normally do and normally see. This is good if those are good habits and bad because we often do not see what others are seeing. There are so many ways to grow wealth. Start looking at the alternatives and who knows what you might find.
9. It is Easier Than You Think
Well, it could also be harder than we think. But most of the time, because we are not used to doing some stuff, we may think it is so damn hard but it might not be. So do not be afraid to explore and rethink how you are currently building your wealth. It might be easier than you think.
10. We Only Live Once
Let’s live to the fullest. Get the most experience out of everything. Be happy, have meaningful relationships. Make tons of money. Love each other. Because we only live once, we should consistently rethink of how we normally do things. How to make it better? Admit mistakes and thank people who gives us good feedback.
It is about time to rethink how we grow our wealth because anything is possible, life is short, opportunities are plentiful and we can achieve anything if we focus and set our mind to it.
Actionable steps:
1. Think about how you are currently growing your wealth.
2. Based on what you know about yourself, what alternatives to growing wealth do you have?
3. Act if it makes sense for you.
Disclaimer:
The information provided is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be a personalized investment or financial advice.
Important: Please read our full disclaimer.
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