By James Delrojo

Most people in affluent countries aim to retire somewhere between 55 and 65, but what if you've reached 55 and your investment portfolio isn't up to scratch, or perhaps is non-existent. It can all start to appear overwhelming. What is the best way to start getting into financial shape?

Firstly realize that you are not alone in your plight. The statistics for the wealthy countries of the world tell us that, despite the wealth of opportunity, over 90% of retired people cannot financially support the quality of lifestyle that they would really like. In fact around 80% of retired people require some form of family or government assistance in order to support themselves at all.

If you've hit, or are around about, that 55 mark and you look like you are on track for becoming another financial statistic then it is time to get serious about creating some decent wealth for the coming years.

Serving you up platitudes or meaningless words of encouragement would not be doing you any favors, so I will be blunt throughout this article. My intention is not to offend you but to present some important realities that you have to address if you want to improve your situation.

As this is a major issue that effects so many people in our society I intend writing a series of articles aimed at helping you change you plight. In this article I will give a brief overview of the five key points that I think you need to address immediately. In future articles I will discuss specific issues in more depth.

These five key points are about changes that you will need to make in your life. Remember that doing the same things that you've always done and expecting the results to be completely different is a form of madness. In your situation such madness is a luxury that you cannot afford.

Key Point 1: You have to get rid of some bad money habits

The truth is that anyone who is serious about getting rich can achieve that goal in 10 years or less. If you think that sounds like a tall order then remember that Bill Gates became a billionaire by age thirty and since then a number of people have become billionaires even faster and younger than that. You won't need to acquire even 1% of a billion dollars in order to retire in comfort, so believe me that 10 years is plenty of time.

The offshoot of that is that if you have reached 55 and are not rich then you have a lot of bad money habits that need to change (if you didn't you'd already be rich). It is crucial to identify what those bad habits are and change them as soon as possible.

Key Point 2: You need to learn and establish some good money habits

By the same logic used in Point 1 you will also have to develop some new good money habits. Ideally these are habits that will help you earn more, spend less, and invest more.

Key Point 3: You need to change your belief system on money

This will almost certainly be the most important change that you will need to make if you are going to become wealthy within the time frame that you have. People tend to get what they expect and believe in, so it is time that you asked yourself which of your beliefs on money and wealth are no longer serving you and your goal to become wealthy.

Key Point 4: You need to change your time management

Becoming rich will require some of your time and by this stage of life you probably have some well established time habits that will need reviewing in order to free up the time you need to provide financially for the future. Don't worry though because becoming wealthy is a lot of fun; which is why billionaires still work even though they clearly don't need to.

Key Point 5: You need to get some good money education

You need to learn how to achieve a lot more financially in the next 5 to 10 years than you achieved in total over the last 35 to 40 years. Clearly this will require some special education.

While you can get some basic pointers for free, the education that you will need will have to be bought and paid for just like the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the car you drive and the house you live in. It's a fact of life so face the facts and get on with it.

Please keep an eye out for future articles that will address the above issues, and related issues in more detail. An excellent way for you to start your education would be by reading my ebook on creating massive success in your life, see details below.

YOU can be successful in all areas of your life! Acclaimed Author & Success Coach, James Delrojo
will show you how to turn your life around in just 30 days and unlock the flood gates of success. You Deserve Success!

Go to http://www.SuccessIn30days.com

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By Molly Gordon

Money is a singular thing.

It ranks with love as man's greatest source of joy.

And with death as his greatest source of anxiety.

~John Kenneth Galbraith

HOW TO STOP THE MONEY TUG-OF-WAR

When your self-concept is at odds with how you feel about wealth, it's hard to imagine yourself building authentic wealth. It can feel like you can either be true to yourself or become wealthy. No matter what you choose, you lose.

Even when you know in your mind that a person is both able to live her personal values and be wealthy, you may still feel that you don't or can't experience wealth. All the affirmations in the world won't change that.

What does work is to drop the rope.

Do you remember when you used to play tug-of-war? It didn't take long to discover that dropping your end of the rope caused your opponent to lose footing. The same principle applies when you are stuck in an internal tug-of-war.

HOW TO DROP THE ROPE

Dropping the rope is tricky when you are tugging on both ends. You can't move toward authentic wealth if you keep holding onto both your current self-concept and your current beliefs about money. Something has to give, but what?

Since you are reading this, I feel pretty confident about your innate decency. I'm guessing that you care a good deal about living from your personal values and that part of what brings you pain around building wealth is that it seems you can't be wealthy and honor your values.

Let's assume that your personal values -- the things you care about most and that you associate with being a decent human being -- are authentic. Human beings are complex critters, capable of behaviors from stellar to, well, let's just say less than admirable. Unless you consciously identify with your values, you can find yourself identifying with everything your inner and outer critics find wrong with you.

Authentic wealth begins with discriminating between competing self-concepts and choosing to identify with the one that is most life-affirming. Sure, you'll still be subject to the indignities of human imperfection, but you will always have a home base to return to when you feel confused or at odds.

This is important because when you drop the rope I want you to be left standing. Right now you are caught between your idea of what it is to be happy and good and your beliefs about creating wealth. If you try to drop your beliefs about money by using affirmations and positive thinking or replacing your beliefs with someone else's, your self-concept will absorb the recoil. Ouch!

And it doesn't make any sense to just drop your self-concept, willy-nilly. As Byron Katie says, it just doesn't work to try to live from someplace you're not. As long as you need an identity, dropping it is a bad idea.

The solution? Drop both ends at once. When you shift your identity to your personal values, when you make a conscious decision to "come from" your best self, you can afford to question your beliefs about money and building wealth with an open mind and heart.

Opening your mind and heart allows you to drop your attachment to who you think you are around money. And questioning your beliefs from this place of openness allows the other end of the rope to drop at the same time.

You may be thinking that this is one to those solutions that is simple, but not easy. I disagree. The actions that result in letting go of both ends of the rope at once are available to you right where you are.

The key is to forget about the rope. Once you have decided to drop it, the rope is of no further use. Every time you look to see whether you are tugging on it or not, you're picking it up again. For a method that works, read Keys to Dropping the Rope and Keeping It Dropped.

KEYS TO DROPPING THE ROPE AND KEEPING IT DROPPED

You need to drop the rope. You want to drop the rope. And then I tell you to forget about the rope. What's up with that?

It's not as crazy as it sounds. Dropping the rope is as simple as making a decision. I strongly recommend that you work on your self-concept and personal values, aligning it with your best self, before you make that decision so that you'll have a firm basis for moving forward. Besides, it's almost impossible to question your beliefs about money and creating wealth with an open mind and heart if you are mired in self-criticism.

The first key, then, is self-acceptance. Participants in the Authentic Wealth program learn a variety of tools for developing deep self-acceptance. One of them is a simple mantra: "When I experience and express myself just the way I am, then I change."

The second key is to replace the rope. Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does your mind. If you want the rope to stay dropped, you'll need to give your mind something else to do. Every module of the tele-retreat (see below) includes an extensive workbook plum full of new ideas, challenges, and exercises for your mind.

One of them is a daily practice I call Open, Accept, Wonder. Do it before you get out of bed in the morning.

Open. Start by bringing awareness to your body, just letting yourself be present to how it is right now. Open yourself to the intention with which you started this retreat.

Accept. Notice how it is with you and money right now, today. See if you can observe and accept your relationship exactly the way it is.

Wonder. Allow yourself to wonder in what ways this relationship will grow, deepen, or heal today.

This practice prepares your brain to notice and learn in ways that support a healthy relationship.

The third key is to shift focus. Before you dropped the rope, you were focused on the conflict between how you felt about yourself and how you felt about money and building wealth. When you drop the rope, shift your focus from conflict to relating.

Participants in the tele-retreat shift focus by keeping a diary of their relationship with wealth. This is not journaling! This is pouring your heart out on paper without reservation, as if you were a teenager in love. Give it a try and let me know what you experience.

The fourth key is repetition. You probably didn't start tugging on the rope yesterday, and it's going to take some time to get used to having dropped it. By repeating various exercises and practices and engaging in an ongoing conversation about the new relationship with money you are building, you move more and more firmly into the new way of being.

The fifth key is community. Most of us learned the money tug-of-war at an early age, absorbing it from our parents, friends, and the community. So much of the conflict is embedded in these relationships, that individual efforts to let go of the rope can be sabotaged. The support and feedback of others on the same path can make the difference between success and failure.

Prepare to be disoriented. If you've had an unhappy relationship with money, your beliefs about creating wealth are so familiar that it's going to feel strange to drop them. When you feel shaky or confused, go to that place inside where you are whole, where you are nurtured by your deepest connections. Whether you find this place in nature, in spiritual practice, or some other way, going there is absolute best way to deal with disorientation.

Molly Gordon, MCC, is a leading figure in business and personal growth coaching, writer, workshop leader, and a frequent presenter at live and virtual events worldwide. Visit her website and find out what abundance gurus don't tell you about the law of attraction and how to use the power of positive thinking for building wealth. While on the site, join 12,000 readers of Molly's Authentic Promotion® ezine and receive a free 31-page guide on effective self promotion.

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By David Drews

It will take time, but to create independent wealth, you need to build, buy and manage assets. What do I mean by assets? I mean stocks, government, corporate and municipal bonds, mutual funds, interest bearing accounts, businesses (including web based businesses), partial ownership in businesses, IP (including books, music, etc), rental real estate, etc. Investments that pay you money are assets. It will take time to build up enough assets that pay you enough so that you can quit your job and run for office or whatever you want to do.

You cannot really catapult yourself to wealth. No money down real estate is VERY risky. Most MLM salesmen don't make very much money. Real bad scams abound. Take the time and build your portfolio of assets correctly. Study potential investments carefully.  Be prepared to stick with your journey for the long haul. Hire an excellent fee only financial planner or broker to help you.  Check for references and do a background check on your broker or financial planner! Prepare a complete business plan, research the market and the competition, and determine if your business is feasible, if you are going to start a business. Again, help may be required.  And be advised, getting people to buy your stuff is HARD!

Read the Millionaire Next Door and model yourself after self made millionaires. Most self made millionaires live below their means and buy assets with the difference. The millionaires of the U.S. found profitable niches and exploited them.  It took some time for the millionaires profiled to become wealthy. We are talking years. I would shy away from ANYONE telling me I could become wealthy instantly.

How much do you need to retire?  You will probably need a million dollars, unless you are going to live as cheap as a college student.  If you want to escape the rat race that bad, I would change careers and start a business on the side.  A good withdrawal rate from your investments would be 5% or less.

Creating and executing your plan to create independent wealth won’t be easy, but don't quit! Keep saving, investing, studying, learn new skills, and never quit, and I bet you have a good chance of ultimately reaching your goal.

Want to learn more? Check out http://www.independentwealth.us for more info.

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By Sylvia Dickens

Are you ready to learn the Ultimate Secret of the Millionaire Mind?

You’ll be glad to know it’s rather simple, actually. Let me take you back to your youth for a moment.

Remember the days when you had all those dreams and visions that persistently danced in your head? Remember pretending to be a rock star, a dancer, a swashbuckler, a cop or whatever it was that seemed like a good role for you back then.

For me, it was teaching, running a store, dancing and being a mermaid. I’d line up my dolls and stuffed animals and ‘teach’ them from a curriculum I created. I took a cardboard box, drew buttons on it, collected a bunch of items, and rang them into the ‘till’. While out walking, I pretended I was a dancer in one of those musicals, twirling around a post outside my church and running up and down the steps. Whenever I went swimming or took a bath, I held my feet together and ducked under like a mermaid.

When we grow up, we forget all those dreams or put them aside as unachievable. They were ‘games’ we played as kids, not careers we could actually have.

There were a few exceptions of course. Those are the people who knew exactly what they wanted and they designed their entire lives around getting it. Kids who wanted to be firefighters or cops or nurses or lawyers did everything that would lead them towards their goal.

Their interests were all-encompassing. They studied them, they experimented. In essence, they ‘became’ the person they wanted to be when they grew up. Without realizing it, they possessed the secret of the millionaire mind. Each day they took one step closer to their goal, year in and year out.

To become a millionaire, you have to really want it. You refuse to take no for an answer. You fill your entire day thinking about nothing else. Every action is designed to do one thing and one thing only: develop your millionaire life. Never allow negative impressions to enter your dream. Never allow yourself to be influenced by negative feedback, even that which comes from people you trust.

Here’s the ultimate key: Recapture your youthful attitude. Act like you are a millionaire already. This is crucial.

Just because you live in a regular house with regular clothes, regular possessions and a regular bank account doesn’t mean you can’t create the illusion of a millionaire lifestyle.

Think about things a millionaire enjoys that you can recreate, given your limited resources.

For example, their houses are probably spotless because they can hire maids to keep it that way. You can have a spotless house by scheduling chores that ensure your place remains tidy. Don’t allow it to become otherwise. If you are surrounded by sloppiness or disorganization, you will live that lifestyle.

Have you ever let your place go and decided it’s time to do a major cleanup? How did you feel afterwards? I’ll bet you felt fabulous. You’d accomplished something. Your place was more presentable and you felt the effects of that. You probably felt a little ‘richer’ for having a clean, tidy house with everything in its place for a change.

Another thing you can do is always dress the part. Ok, you probably can’t afford a $1000 suit, but that doesn’t mean you have to walk around in a paint-splattered track suit all day. At least get yourself a really good quality track suit, if that’s your favorite style. Not all millionaires dress to the nines.

Don’t allow your current status to influence you negatively. That means don’t let your situation bring you down, because it’s so easy to become down-hearted when your life isn’t where you want it to be. That’s when we tend to let things ‘slide’, from our appearance to our homes to our emotions.

Take care of yourself – treat yourself every day like you are going to an important meeting with distinguished people. Rather than having coffee in that old stained mug, use a rich-looking cup, perhaps with gold edging. Put on nice clothes, attractive jewelry, and whatever else you’d normally do.

Make the best of what you’ve got. Surround yourself with things that make you feel good about yourself. Take pride in yourself and everything around you. Before long, you will experience the secret of the millionaire mind.

Act like the millionaire you plan to become. Walk tall. Put on your best outfit, go out and show it off. If you can afford it, go ahead and buy yourself a small ‘expensive’ trinket – a small diamond or ruby or gold bracelet or tie stud. Wear it every day as a reminder that you are ‘becoming’ a millionaire.

The secret of the millionaire mind can be discovered quite easily if you get into the right attitude from the start. Decide you want to become a millionaire and put all your effort into that alone. Think about it every day, every hour. Treat yourself now and then in celebration of your success so far.

Most of all, believe it’s possible for you to become a millionaire. Stay positive. Play the role. Dress the part. Act as you will when you are a millionaire. Do the things you’ll do when you are rich. Visit places where richness surrounds you. Browse a Porsche or Cadillac showroom. Wander through expensive stores and admire the things you want. Absorb it all until it becomes you.

This is the ultimate secret of the millionaire mind.

I recently discovered “The Midas Method”, a book that further teaches you the secret of the millionaire mind. As I study it and apply the methods explained in the book, I’m posting my findings on my blog at http://www.book-titles.ca/productblog/  There you can follow along and see how I get on with this method because I can assure you, I might say I don’t care about money but the truth is, I really do want to be a millionaire.

If you found this information helpful, here are some highly effective proven programs to assist you in becoming the person you want to be.  http://www.book-titles.ca/mental_self_help.htm . Stop Smoking, Anxiety Relief, Dog Training, Music Instruction (piano, guitar) and Family Vacation Getaway ideas are some of the topics covered on Sylvia’s site at http://www.book-titles.ca  Her travel magazine offers family vacation getaway ideas for fun and relaxation.

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By Sylvia Dickens

Everybody wants to know the secret of the millionaire mind, but they’d be surprised to learn that everyone has it. It’s just a matter of wiping away all the road blocks that are preventing it from surfacing and doing its thing.

Have you ever heard the expression, “You are what you think?” It means that if you think positively, you will enjoy positive results, but if you think negatively your results will be negative.

I’ve been reading a book that reveals the secret of the millionaire mind and it’s quite revealing. We might tend to think that the ‘secret’ is something special that makes people rich, but it’s not. It stems from having self esteem and confidence, which goes toward making you a positive person.

Positive people, for some reason, tend to make good decisions that get them to their goal.

Whether we are negative or positive, it will show in how we think through a situation.

Let’s take a simple goal like mowing the lawn. Let’s suppose you’ve never cut a lawn before and don’t know the first thing about it. What do you do?

First, you’ll look out and realize it needs cutting. A negative person would just sit back and say, “I don’t know how to do that,” whereas a positive person would think, “I have to learn how to do that or else the property will look terrible.”

The difference between the positive and the negative person is that the positive person doesn’t just look at the problem. He sees it as something that requires learning a skill and getting it done.

The secret of the millionaire mind is to focus on the goal, rather than on the problem. This is possible when positive thought rules. Those of us with a positive attitude get things done, one way or another. We have the self-confidence and the courage to move forward, to learn new things, to apply what we learn.

A millionaire mind doesn’t take no for an answer. At every obstacle, it constantly seeks solutions. Plans are made and put into action. Persistence and determination go hand in hand to create the desired success.

Knowing how to set goals and make good plans to achieve them is crucial. Having self-esteem plays a role here, because without it we doubt our abilities. In this frame of mind, we set unachievable goals to reinforce our beliefs that we are incapable (or unworthy) of becoming rich. Or worse, we just don’t set any goals at all.

I once met a major magazine publisher in Toronto, Canada who, to me, was the epitome of what makes a millionaire. He was confident. He would stride through the office and down the street, his head held high. Everyone he met immediately felt his presence. It was quite the experience to sit before him and sense his strength and determination – his positive attitude filling the room.

He definitely held the secret of the millionaire mind. He owned one of the largest publishing firms in the country, along with other interests that kept him motivated. It was difficult to hold him down for long because he was always anxious to get things done, and he did it with a constant smile and pleasantries all around, as well as a sense of humor.

To recap, the secret of the millionaire mind covers several areas that we can all master.

Build a positive attitude and strong self esteemBe determined and confidentDevelop the habit of looking at the solutions, rather than at the problemsDevelop good goal-setting skills and an effective plan to make them happen.I recently discovered “The Midas Method”, a book that further teaches you the secret of the millionaire mind. As I study it and apply the methods explained in the book, I’m posting my findings on my blog at http://www.book-titles.ca/productblog/ . There you can follow along and see how I get on with this method because I can assure you, I might say I don’t care about money, but the truth is, I really do want to be a millionaire.

If you found this information helpful, here are some highly effective proven programs to assist you in becoming the person you want to be.  Visit http://www.book-titles.ca/mental_self_help.htm . Stop Smoking, Anxiety Relief, Dog Training, Music Instruction (piano, guitar) and Family Vacation Getaway ideas are some of the topics covered on Sylvia’s site at http://www.book-titles.ca . Her travel magazine offers family vacation getaway ideas for fun and relaxation.

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By Jeanna Gabellini

Okay, so the title suggests I have the solution for your money issues. I have some suggestions. You have the solution. You know yourself better than anyone. You know your downfalls and where your brilliance lies.  Okay, some of you are better at talking about your downfalls, but you definitely have more smarts than you give yourself credit for! The important thing is to use the tools, strategies, habits and thinking that work for you.

If something isn’t working after a solid month or two of true commitment, change your strategy or focus. Ask a friend, colleague or coach if they see something you are doing that isn’t working that you may not be objective enough to identify for yourself. If it feels true and right for you, then it probably is. Use your emotional and mental guidance systems for your best advantage.

If you’ve been focusing on increasing income for a while with no results, here are a few perspectives that may work for you:

• Get very clear on what the money will be spent on. Getting more money in your life is not a magnetic pull itself. There is more energy and emotion behind focusing on what you will spend the money on. These things have to be compelling. Whether you want a nice nest egg or a new car, you’ve got to really want it.

• You have to make a serious decision that the money is coming now. Not “hopefully” soon, a few months or sometime this year.

• Don’t force you’re brain into finding the “way” you will increase your income. Sit down and set up a creativity session, as if it were a meeting with your team, and calmly tap into your intuitive brain. If the answer doesn’t come right away…do not fret. It will hit you when you least expect it. You can round table some ideas with other people too, but keep it open and light.

• Accept your current financial state. You don’t have to like it, but stop resisting it. Get over any guilt, fear and victim feelings. Then step into your adult shoes and decide what you are going to act like and start doing about it. You must change your perspective first and foremost. You CAN turn around any situation at any point.

If you are in fear or frustration about debt, try one or all of these:

• Again, accept the fact that you have debt. Who cares how you got there. You have to get over the fact that you have it in order to get rid of it. Debt is not necessarily a bad thing. Some of the wealthiest people on the planet have more debt that you can even fathom. Learn from any habits that got you there and correct them.

• Make a plan to pay it off. Even if you can only pay $5 above the minimum amount due each month for awhile, a plan will empower you. Any action feels good. This will motivate you and bring about fresh ideas.

• See yourself as someone with no debt. Act like a person who feels free about money. I’m not saying to go and spend beyond your means. I mean feel free internally. Keep your eye on the goal. Start imagining what it would be like to have MORE than enough money. Get used to having lots of cushion and beyond.

• Get help. Ask someone who is objective or a financial advisor for support and ideas. We get very narrow focused about solutions when we feel stress. There are dozens of ways to handle debt. But remember, you have to choose something that will feel good to you.
Miscellaneous stuff about money:

• You and your partner do not have to have the same priorities. You just have to be very clear that you both get to have your needs met. In the end, you will lways be able to find a solution that appeases everyone’s behavioral style and financial needs.

• Having financial freedom is not luck or good fortune. It is about clear intentions, commitment, a plan, focus and most of all fun. Yes, when you start playing with money and making it a game, you’ll be able watch the rise in what you attract.

• Financial intelligence is not complicated. You just need to open your mind. You don’t have to be good at numbers, but you do need to know your numbers. Most people are more savvy at this than they think. Plans and strategies can be fun if you tailor them to meet your needs. My first financial plan was laid out on a flip chart with colored markers and photos. Not exactly the norm, right? But it worked for me at the time. Now I have a wealth plan on paper with dates.

Here is another example of doing it my own way:

I had a goal to pay off all the balances due on everything I owned: car, boat, and credit cards. Unusual? No. But the way I chose to do it might look strategically stupid in many people’s eyes. I paid off the smallest balances first, regardless of the interest rate. Why? It seemed easier and I knew it would allow me to see progress faster, which would keep me motivated. It worked. Unexpected income came the second month I began this plan. The boat got paid off with that chunk. YES, progress! And one by one I watched the debt go away.

Now at the same time, I was increasing the amount of money I was putting into my investments every month. Again, my income increased to accommodate the goal. I was having fun with the plan! I made a spreadsheet (and I’m not a detailed kind of gal) that had monthly expenses and the total balances I owed. I loved watching the numbers on the balances decrease each month, sometimes only by a few dollars. It began to be a fun game. When I went to the mailbox and got a bill, I was actually excited, because I got to plug in the numbers on my spreadsheet. The point here is that it worked for me!
Homework for this week: Check in with your current practices, habits and thoughts with money. If it’s not making you truly happy and you don’t feel like it’s a game, then choose 2 things you’ll change immediately. They can be small steps. Then keep up the momentum.

Jeanna Gabellini is the Xtreme Abundance Coach.  She'll give you all the tools you need to create financial wealth and prosperity with her personal coaching, tele-courses and audio products.  Jeanna blends strategy, Laws of attraction and FUN to assist you in creating exactly what you want.  Are you ready for Extreme Abundance?  Go to http://www.MasterPeaceCoaching.com to get your free ezine or call 707-747-0447 for more info.

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