If you’re serious about winning with money, you have to surround yourself with people and things that will motivate you, encourage you, and inspire you. You don’t make it a goal to win with money and then tempt yourself by going to shops frequently.
Here are some ideas for you on how you can surround yourself with encouraging content and community support about money.
Reading Books or Ebooks
In my previous posts, I have talked about being an avid reader. However, for years, I used to read just fiction books. Only when I had a family of my own did I make it a goal to read non-fiction books. These days, my goal is to read at least 1 non-fiction book a month. Dare I say I’m enjoying it so much that I end up reading 2 non-fiction books a month?!
If you’re still not convinced that books are something you need to surround yourself with, here are a few notable advantages to reading:
- It helps you learn new skills or enhance the skills you already have. Some of these books will even teach you valuable life lessons.
- It helps you become a better communicator by recognizing how words flow together. You’ll even expand your vocabulary by learning new words! Kindle does a great job of showing you the meaning of the word when you highlight it. If you do not have a Kindle, don’t fret because you can easily look up those words using your phone through the Dictionary app or something similar. You gotta love tech sometimes! There’s also a Kindle app on the phone that does the same thing as the Kindle e-reader. Genius!
- Reading improves focus. Years of reading has taught me to tune out all the noise around me when I’m deeply engaged in a book. When you find a book that’s truly engaging, it will keep you hooked until the very last page.
- Reading helps you become wise and mature. I found that reading has helped open my eyes to be more understanding and more emphatic to those around me. Reading about people’s issues in books has allowed me to recognize that we each have our own struggles in life, some tougher than others.
- Reading encourages and motivates you. There are different genres of books and one of them is self-help books. It helps you develop yourself on specific topics. Biographies are great for inspiration. Just because someone is a millionaire or billionaire doesn’t mean his/her road to greatness was easy. Everyone’s journey is paved with obstacles and challenges. The goal is not to avoid them but to overcome them. It’s inspiring to read how these people used their struggles as lessons to propel them forward.
If you’re looking for book recommendations, here are a few of my all time favorite books on money:
- Think and Grow Rich. This book by Napoleon Hill is a classic. It was first published in 1937 and has since sold 80 million copies worldwide! It has 4,000+ raving reviews in Amazon and rated as 4.8 out of 5! This is a must-read if you’re serious about winning with money. I won’t repeat what everyone else in Amazon has raved about this book. Just go to Amazon, read the book description from the publisher, and go through the reviews. You’ll be blown away by what people think of this book. Speaking of which, I probably need to read this one every year.
- The Richest Man in Babylon is another classic by George S. Clason and was originally published in 1926. The original edition has over 19,000 reviews in Amazon and rated as 4.7 out of 5. This book talks about timeless financial advice garnered from the Babylonians who were dubbed as the first people who discovered the universal law of prosperity. The advice from this book was applicable way back then and it is very much applicable to our modern day society as well.
- The Millionaire Next Door. While this book by Thomas J. Stanley, PhD and William D. Danko, PhD is not a classic like the previous two, it is ripe with lots of great information about ordinary, everyday people who have amassed a million or more in net worth because of discipline, intentionality, and being wise with their money. It’s an inspiring book with a premise that anyone can be a millionaire if we adapt the same kind of mindset and lifestyle these ordinary, everyday people have. The second edition has 8000+ reviews in Amazon and rated as 4.7 out of 5. If anything, it will inspire you to believe in yourself. If these ordinary people like you and me can become millionaires, then it’s possible for anyone!
Listening to Podcasts, TED Talks, or Audiobooks
I love listening to podcasts, TED talks, and audiobooks during my daily walks. There are a number of free podcasts that have very good content. Some of those that I listen to are Dave Ramsey, Rachel Cruze, Christy Wright, Everyday Millionaires. I love these personalities because their advice is to stay away from debt which is the biggest obstacle to wealth.
There is an app called TED for TED Talks. They also have a TED podcast and TED in YouTube as well. One of my all-time favorite TED Talk is Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why”. While the subtitle says “How leaders inspire action”, knowing your WHY applies to just about anything. In building wealth, knowing your WHY, keeping it front and center, and reminding yourself daily of your WHY will allow you to win with money. Our WHY needs to be compelling enough to motivate us to take action.
I used to subscribe to Audible because I love listening to audiobooks on my drive to and from work. With the pandemic, I paused my subscription because I only have a 5 second commute (max) to my office nowadays, LOL. If you’re like my husband and reading lulls you to sleep, try audiobooks instead. The library also have audiobooks that you can borrow for free so do check that out as well.
Join a Community of Like-Minded People
One of the greatest motivational speaker of all time, Jim Rohn, had said “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. If that’s the case, then we should surround ourselves with people who will be able to have a good impact on our lives. We need to be with like-minded people who may be in different stages of the journey towards financial freedom but who are aiming and marching to the same tune.
Let me be honest with you. Building wealth and being intentional with money is not easy.
There will be times when you feel like you want to give up and go back to merely surviving. Temptations can and will arise.
Emergencies will pop up.
You will be criticized and sometimes, the criticism will come from those you love.
You will question why you’re doing this in the first place.
It will be uncomfortable, inconvenient even.
You will question whether all of these sacrifices are worth it in the end.
But you are definitely not alone. There are so many people who are in the same journey as you and you can encourage and cheer each other on. Sometimes that’s all we need to continue to move forward — someone on our side believing in us.
There are so many others who have had to walk the path you’re on and are now at the peak of the mountain where you want to be. You can gain a lot of wisdom from those who have come before you and have crushed it.
Find a Facebook group that speaks to you. Find one that encourages people and does not bash people for falling off the wagon.
To summarize, here are the 3 tips to motivate you to win with money:
- Reading books or e-books
- Listening to podcasts, TED talks, or audiobooks
- Join a community of like-minded people
Remember that the journey to financial freedom is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a long and treacherous haul. It’s a long climb to the top of a steep and rocky mountain. Despite all the hardships, it will all be worth it in the end.
I hope that these tips help. As always, I would love to hear from you. Which among these 3 tips will you try? And if you found a Facebook group, will you let us know which one in the comments below?
