WHY DO I WANT TO BE WEALTHY?

By: Mark Frentz
www.akerahomes.com
mfrentz@akerahomes.com

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Money is a Tool

I grew up believing there was something wrong with money. Having too much of it would corrupt and eat me from the inside. While these weren't statements my family or people around me made, it was something we all inherently believed to a degree. Terms and statements such as 'filthy rich' and 'money doesn't grow on trees' in our culture all influence us to a degree.

I've come to understand that money is simply a tool. Nothing more or less. Just like a hammer has the ability in the right hands to create beauty and safety or kill money is powerless without someone handling it. I'm hoping to give you three reasons I sincerely desire to be wealthy. I have not shared two of these desires with a lot of people outside my closest friends and family, but I believe it may be of help on some level for those who read this post to have a differing perspective from those around us whose focus is so much on money every day rather than what money can be used for.

Wealth Frees me to Chase more Important Dreams

Reason #1: Having wealth frees me to think about goals I dare not dream without money. For example, think about Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. They are extremely wealthy... to the point where having a goal for more money is pretty much a complete waste of time and energy. Wealth has freed these individuals to think about larger problems in life than how they will be able to take care of their next bill or overdue debt payment.

When a person or family has little, money takes up a lot of thought time. We tend to place too much focus on the thing that we believe will fix a lot of our problems. People tend to also discredit others who have money and look for the evil in them rather than the good because it helps to vilify those who have something I want; somehow I can feel more content with my situation (no money) if the other situation (having money) isn't all that much better (people become evil).

I want you to think back to when everyone farmed on the planet. What changed culture for the better? Tools for farming allowed one person to cultivate more food, which freed others up to build cities and think of new ideas that had the potential to improve life in many ways. Money has the same ability in the 21st century. If you have enough money to feel safe regardless of bills or payments of any kind, now you will have time and energy to think about greater purposes. Again, money is simply a tool.

Learning to Handle Wealth Allows me to Better Help Others

Every since I was about 4-5 years old I can remember wanting to help people. My ideal jobs were always along the lines of doctor or vet or, one job I have now, a psychotherapist. One beauty of having wealth is that I am not longer governed by how others want to help people. An example is that if I am a psychologist and am employed by the government or some other employer, I need to buy in to what that employer wants me to do and I need to help others in the way the employer tells me to help others. When I am independently wealthy I can now choose to help others the way I believe really best meets their needs.

My greatest purpose for the past 20 years is to become a sage; a person who has wisdom and has learned how to help people so that I can truly offer the help that is needed in various situations. I am passionate about learning about human nature because it allows me to better understand what any person's needs are, often I can see what a person needs and then I help them see it as well. I passionately desire to become someone who young people can come to for wisdom, guidance, and advice without forcing them to do anything. I want to throw myself into other people and how they can improve their lives and the lives of those around them. I also want to do this on a greater scale than simply my own family and friends.

Some people may dream about retirement as a time with no responsibilities on a golf course somewhere. If that is your dream I would like to challenge you today. Humans without purpose tend to lead very empty lives. If the highest purpose someone has is playing golf 24/7 I am willing to place a very large wager that the person feels pretty empty after a brief time of living out that dream (and I have nothing against golf, just in case you are wondering). This is why people with wealth tend to seek out a greater purpose. This is why Bill Gates and Warren Buffet commit their later years and almost all their wealth to making others' lives better.

Wealth allows me to dream big and then pursue those dreams. This has two benefits: It allows me to be satisfied with life knowing I am doing something worthwhile in life and it enriches the lives of others. I meet people daily that struggle with mid life crises or the frustration of living without very much purpose. I believe living without purpose is one of the most difficult things a person can attempt, yet most people do.

While becoming Wealthy I can Enrich Others' Lives

One truly beautiful and almost magical aspect of wealth is that when we begin to work toward wealth we can do this by enriching other people's lives. The more value I bring to others and the more I help them, the more wealth I can gain. I truly believe this is magical on some level because I can realize my dreams that wealth allows me to live out while I help, in part, make the lives of those around me better. This is another reason I am so excited about real estate; shelter is a basic human need and there are a lot of terrible landlords out there. I can actually make more money long term than slumlords when I truly take care of the people who live in the properties I own (this is just one example).

Final Thoughts

I would like you to take another look at the image I chose for this week's blog post. This is a metaphor of what wealth means to me. Wealth allows a little seed of ideas to become a great tree that, when fully grown, provides shelter and shade and rest and even nutrition and safety for both the people and environment in general around it. This great tree can grow in wisdom through it's experiences of growing fully and then share this wisdom with everyone and everything around it. It can become a pillar of a micro community that helps all. There is magic in every oak, maple, apple, or fig seed and there is magic in ideas that can be given full ability to grow with the tool of wealth.



Here's to your future of risk-averse investing!

If you would like to learn more about investing in real estate please contact me at the email address listed at the beginning of this article or go to my website at: www.akerahomes.com/investing-in-real-estate.html