Week 23 Year 2 – Reflecting Wealth

Hola, Alejandro here with Week 23!

 

Let me tell you a story.

 

Back in 2016 I had a good idea. It came down on me like I suppose many good ideas come down to you: in the shower! This great idea said something like, “If success leaves clues, then look at success and dig YOUR clues out, dah!” So I thought about developing what I came to refer as the BILF Project. BILF, being the acronym for Billionaire I’d Like as Friend. And so the plan was this, each week for a year, you look up and research the biography and as much information as you can about the life and work of a specific billionaire that intrigues you, and try to dig DEEP into their philosophy, actions and ideas.

 

Well, that was 2016, and I thought it was a pretty rad idea. Aaaaand… I did nothing!! 2017 was when I finally started out and in the first 5 minutes of reading Sam Walton’s (Wal-Mart) book, Made in America, I realized that I’ve just lost ONE YEAR!

 

Sammy passed away in ‘92 at the age of 74, with a net worth of around 8.6 billion dollars! Not bad, huh?! His book set me up for making big changes in my thought patterns. He taught me fantastic things and opened my mind, broadened out my horizons and gave me BIG insights into the world of BIG business.

 

Then, Andrew Carnegie, after him, J. P. Morgan, then, J. D. Rockefeller, next, Mark Cuban, Ray Kroc, George Soros, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, Charlie Munger, Jack Ma, Henry Ford, Amancio Ortega, Michael Dell, Mark Zuckerberg, Carlos Slim, Sir Richard, Branson, Jeff Bezos, the Koch Brothers, the Warburgs, the Google Dudes, the PayPal Mafia… well… The BILF Project!!

 

But before you put up your own prejudices against the BILF Project (or maybe you have already) let me put this on the table and let’s both take a step back, ok?

 

If you wanted to be a painter, wouldn’t it make sense to study painters? Like, some really dedicated guys you could die for having a 30 minute talk with? Some super famous Maestros from the Renaissance? Some uncomprehended weirdos that didn’t care living in ostracism but who ended up starting posthumous art revolutions because they stepped on the thin ice? Heck, I bet you’d even (if you’re a true sceptic, like moi) go after everything you could find about painters you consider crappy but who’ve still sold works ranking in the millions! You follow? The idea is to BECOME painters, and we have to get the knowledge of what the painting world is and how it has been shaped. So, knowledge is power and lack of knowledge is lack of power. Besides, who dictates your knowledge when you’re under your own self-guided self-educating journey?? The key concept here is discernment, folks, so… relax.

 

And let me be honest with you, no, I didn’t went for the full year of 52 biographies of billionaires…yet. Some actually took more than one week ‘cuz there’s sooo much information and they’re sooo interesting, also work commitments, and MKEMMA which I took for the first year starting in late September 2017. But something I have for sure, it’s a project I’ll resume sooner than later, it’s part of my self-education and self-exploration masterplan.

 

And no, my goal is not to amass those outrageous sums, but yes, my goal is to build a business as large as those guys built which as a result could potentially produce such amounts.

 

But ok, the point is this: yes, the old phrase “Success leaves clues” took a whole different meaning to me. Very quickly I was noticing commonalities across them, the more I dug the more obvious they looked. Yes, those guys not only “think different,” they dream, visualize, plan, work, decide, prioritize, execute, talk, manage, eat, drive, dress, travel, love, and live different. It’s like having 3D glasses for reality now. If you were to ask me “yeah, yeah, big deal, what are the 3 biggest lessons you got from your cheesy BILF thing that I can apply NOW, Alejandro?”

 

Without a doubt, I’d say this to you in a snap:

 

• Business IS people. Good people create good businesses.

 

• Give more, get more. We give NOT to get, we give BECAUSE we’re abundant.

 

• The HABIT of MANAGING money is more important than the amount.

 

I could go on and on about lessons and stories from my new friends, and I mean, seriously! I can see myself sitting on a leather chair beside Carnegie and a cracking fireplace while he tells me how he worked in the telegraph as messenger for $2 a week, did some businesses and now with more than $300B he’s giving libraries away, books and buildings! I feel the breeze in my face, riding a Model A through a bumpy country road with Henry and him going, “Yeah, we’re not even the 50th car maker around, but I have a vision!” Or, strapped to the third seat inside a roaring, brand new McLaren F1 with Peter Thiel by my side when he taps the driver on the shoulder yelling, “Hey, Elon, and how fast can it go?!”

 

Now, I want you to take a deep breath, sit comfy and close your eyes for a minute while you think about those few rare people you admire who have made a dent in this world’s history because they have mastered something you want to master. Feel them beside you, all of them, feel their heart embracing you, supporting you. They are giving you guidance, they are showing you the way because they know the path, they have your back, they’re your advisors. They are your friends now, all of them.

 

Really, close your eyes for a moment. FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!

 

Now, with that feeling alive burning in your chest, take another deep breath and read Haanel’s lines:

 

1. The money consciousness is an attitude of mind; it is the open door to the arteries of commerce. It is the receptive attitude. Desire is the attractive force which sets the current in motion and fear is the great obstacle by which the current is stopped or completely reversed, turned away from us.

 

2. Fear is just the opposite from money consciousness; it is poverty consciousness, and as the law is unchangeable we get exactly what we give; if we fear, we get what we feared. Money weaves itself into the entire fabric of our very existence; it engages the best thought of the best minds.

 

6. A generous thought is filled with strength and vitality, a selfish thought contains the germs of dissolution; it will disintegrate and pass away. Great financiers are simply channels for the distribution of wealth; enormous amounts come and go, but it would be as dangerous to stop the outgo as the income; both ends must remain open; and so our greatest success will come as we recognize that it is just as essential to give as to get.

 

Let’s be honest about it, wealth is not only about money, but in this week’s Part we are asked to wear our big boy, big girl pants: money is an important part of life, and “at least a sufficient amount is needed” to do most things we want to do. Like one of my friends says, “You want to save the trees? Get rich, buy 100 acres, and save them!”

 

There’s no avoiding this Truth, folks. Money is a lawful result, it is OUR result. The Law is flawless, money will always follow those great acts done by great men and women whose great thoughts were Reflecting Wealth.

 

Hope you have found some value today. Please share with me if you find a relation between any kind of wealth and the people you admire. Would love to read your comments, amigos.

 

Until next time!

 

>One Love<

 

-A