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Hey there, real quick, before we jump into the episode, listen, if your earnings treadmill hasn't set you free yet, running faster won't either. Listen, hustle without principles just going to burn you out. So here's what I want for you. I want you to join me for my money machine experience live. It is three free trainings. Deep dive into how to escape the treadmill and build a money machine that actually works for you. All right, grab your spot here by going to moneymachinelive.com and I'll see you in the free training. What if I told you that the wealthiest people follow a completely different set of rules? And when it comes to success, when it comes to their money, when it comes to feeling truly rich. See, often people are chasing this magical number that when they hit it, they're gonna feel successful, they're gonna feel secure, they're gonna feel happy. Yet the truth is that there's many millionaires that when they get their millions, they're. They are just as unfulfilled as they were before they even had them. So what's the difference? Well, it's because they focused on the wrong things. And there is a book that was written decades ago that breaks it all down for you, but no one talks about it. The author is Napoleon Hill. Now, he did write Think and Grow Rich, but he also wrote another book, the Master Key to Riches. And. And in this book, I think it actually breaks down a whole lot more and in a better way than Think and Grow Rich. And I'm going to break that down for you here because it gives you the exact principles that help millionaires build not just wealth, but to truly live a rich life. And it is a book that they know about, but they're not talking about. And we're going to dive into the 12 hidden riches that go beyond money in it and do all the things so you understand the gem this book is all right.

Most people think that getting rich, they just need to focus on money. That single ingredient is the key to being rich. And the reality is. What if I told you that millionaires don't think that way? There is a book that was written decades ago that literally reveals the way to build not only wealth, but richness. And it's not all about the money. The book is called Master the Master Key to Riches by Napoleon Hill. Okay? And this psychology of wealth has it in there. And another book by Napoleon Hill. Both of these books are not the popular Think and Grow rich pop, but I think it's actually more powerful than think And Go Rich. I think this book, Master Keys, was overshadowed by Think and Go Rich, but this goes deeper. It explains exactly how millionaires build financial success and also why money alone never is going to make you feel truly rich. So I'm going to break it down because I think this is probably one of the most powerful books from decades ago. Now, I'm not taking away from my book because I think that this is of our time, one of the most powerful books. But this is a classic text that no one's talking about. It's a secret, if you will, and I want to give it to you. So here's the deal. You've heard of Think and Grow Rich. It is cited over and over again and as one of the seminal texts in this space. But this one is different. So there's three pillars to the Master Key to Riches that they talk about, and the three main principles, and then 12 different elements to richness that they talk about. I want to break that all down for you. The first principle is this. There is this concept of definiteness, of purpose that, that they get really clear here is that wealth doesn't happen by accident. That the reason that many people struggle financially is they don't. They don't have a clear vision or mission for their finances. And this is one of the reasons that when we talk about wealth, when I work with my clients, when I'm speaking in my book, all the different things I said, we got to start with vision first because we're not building a bank account, we're building a life. We're building a life accountant. And so, so it's not about, I just want to be rich, because it's really about, I want to live that rich life. And that rich life is how we experience it, how we feel about it, what it does us, the memories, the generosity, all the things that come into play. But that's driven by a vision for our life. And then that vision will define the plan to make the vision a reality. And then the plan will allow us to define the strategy to execute on the plan, which then gives us the tactics, which allows us to set the actions. That's the process. But the very first principle that Napoleon Hill talks about in the. In the Master Key to riches is that you need to have a definiteness of purpose, that you need to have the right vision, that you need to know what your destination is and where you're going. The second main principle that. That he talks about is this idea of applied faith. This is about having a belief in your success before it ever happens that with the vision and the faith, you then take actions, knowing that if I follow principles.

That are proven, it will work out. And wealth creation is literally a recipe, an equation, a math equation. Math will always math out, always work out. And so we just need to do the math, we just need to do the recipe, we need to follow the principles. But that means that we need to have faith in the actions we're taking, knowing that over the long term, we will get to the destination. And too often what happens is that.

We lack the faith in ourselves to make the decision. We lack the faith in ourselves to take the consistent actions. We question our ability when something doesn't go exactly our way and we start to lose faith in the process. And when we do that, what happens is we set ourselves back and we're not moving forward. So, so it's about having faith. Now, there's another side of this, and that is this, is that often we also are looking for permission. Is it okay for you to step out? Is it okay for you to do something different than maybe what was expected of you by your career, your degree, your siblings, your parents, your upbringing, your society? I'm here to tell you, yes, yes. And it's okay to step outside your comfort zone and it's okay to have that faith, to sit, sit back and say, I'm going to take a different path, I'm going to take a path that maybe is less traveled, and then I'm going to take action towards a financial goal before you even feel ready. And so this applied faith principle is huge in, in your finance journey, because we're starting from a place where that we are not wealthy, we are not living a rich life because we haven't traveled the journey. Now, maybe you inherit, maybe you get gifted, whatever, but even then, I don't think you've traveled the journey to be the person you need to be to be able to hold on to the riches. Because that's the very reason that lottery ticket winners, lottery winners end up, many of them end up broke is because they didn't exercise the muscle, they didn't become who they needed to become to have that wealth that they have. And so that applied faith is going to get us on a journey, it's going to get us in action, it's going to get us in movement, and it's going to develop us to be who we need to be to attract the wealth and the riches that we need. Okay? The third principle that Napoleon Hill talks about is this idea of the mastermind principle. And he talked about this in Think and Grow Rich also. And that is. This. Is that by building the proper network of people around us, we create alliances. We have mentors, we have guides, we have opportunities. And we amplify our success and we accelerate our success.

The idea of.

Building wealth being a solo pursuit is.

Is to me, to me, one that would be a lonely pursuit. There's no way that you can have a rich life, that you can experience a rich life. If it's a solitary life, I just don't think so, putting monks and those kinds of folks out of it. But if I'm living lonely, isolated and siloed, is that truly a rich life? And most, most people that are living a rich life are surrounded by richness. Not lavishness, richness in experiences and friendships and relationships and mentors and that. That type of thing. So, so here is where you start to look at and say, who am I surrounding myself with that will get me to think bigger, see bigger, to help me pave the path and guide me along the way. So those are some of the principles. Now, one of the big differences in this book is they also talked about the 12 riches of life, and Napoleon Hill starts to really break it down. I think this is where it gets really interesting that in 1954, when this book was written, that Napoleon Hill was thinking along the same lines that I talk about in my book. And my journey is that it's not about the bank account, it's about the life account that matters and how we're experiencing life. And so he breaks down these 12 hidden riches to create a life of financial freedom, but also a life of fulfillment. So I'm going to just kind of walk through those really quickly for you so you start to understand what they are, what they mean, and how they can apply in your life. And then I'm gonna tell you how do you take the lessons from the master key to riches and apply them to your life on your journey to make that happen? And so the first. Is this a positive mental attitude? He said, this is the foundation of all success.

Pessimism and negative mindset's gonna completely destroy your potential because it gets you to shrink down. Instead, expansive millionaires will typically focus on solutions and not problems. A problem presents itself, that means that there is a solution within the problem and. And they control their focus. If I focus on problem, problem, problem, the only thing I'm going to get is more problems. If I focus on not having money, not having money, not having money, not having money, I'm going to have Less money. But if I focus on how do I build wealth, what are the principles? How do I make more money? What do I need to do? We start to change the thing. We start to train ourselves to see opportunities instead of obstacles. And that mental attitude, that mental shift is one of the things that sets some of the rich people apart. And that's one of the things that Napoleon Hill, in his studies notice that leads me to number two of the 12 riches. And that is sound physical health. Oh, do I know this so well? Money itself is completely useless if you're too sick to enjoy it. Benjamin Franklin said, wealth isn't for those that have it, it's for those that enjoy it. Okay? And so wealthy people will take the time.

To invest in their health to maximize their energy, to look at their longevity, because they know that health allows them to be more productive, that health allows them to create more memories and experiences, and health will allow them to create wealth and richness in their life. And so they look at things. Now, trust me, there's plenty of wealthy people that are unhealthy, so I get it. But those that are experiencing the riches in life, they're healthy enough to do so. And so they treat their health like an asset, just like any other asset they're investing in. They invest in it. They eat well, they exercise, they avoid burnout, they do the right things. I take Lord knows how many supplements I take, but I work out five, six days a week. I walk 16 to 18,000 steps a day.

I try to watch what I eat. A lot of this was driven by my cancer journey. But I've done the workouts since high school years, which was a long time ago. And so sound physical health is a big deal. And I think that this is something that still, though the book was written in 1954, it still rings true today more than ever. Okay, number three, Harmony in human relationships. This is where I talk about one of the riches. One of the things that enrich us is the treasures in life. And the treasures in life are the relationships that we have, the people we get to share life with. My wife, my son, my granddaughters, his wife, my colleagues, my audience, people like you. Money doesn't necessarily mean anything if I have relationships that are suffering, that are not fulfilling or that are struggling or that are stressed. And so.

In Napoleon Hill's eyes, the truly rich people, they would take the time to prioritize nurturing strong relationships, whether business, family, or friendships, to make sure that they have that richness in the relationships to elevate them so one of the things that I think you can do here is to sit back and look at your relationships, say, how do I elevate the relationships? How do I elevate them? Financially, emotionally, mentally, energetically? How do I do that? And how do I bring those into my life? Number four is the freedom from fear. Fear of failure, risk judgment literally paralyzes people. I don't want to make a bad investment decision. I don't want to do the wrong thing. I don't want to disappoint someone. I've been driven by this. There's so many times that I struggle because I just care so much about the other person. I don't want to disappoint them.

But millionaires, they learn to control that. They act in face of the fear, knowing that they have good intent to serve, to do good. And despite the uncertainty, they will still take action because they know when they successfully achieve that, it's on the other side of that fear. And so we don't shrink in the fear, we grow in the fear. And this is the thing that they do. Most of them, if they allowed the fear to control them, they would have shrunk down and they would have played small.

Rather, they looked at the fear and said, what's it telling me to learn? What are the things that I'm lacking? What are the things that I need so the fear doesn't become so large? And I can step through the fear and take risks, but they're calculated risks nonetheless.

And then number five is the hope of an achievement. The happiest people are those people that are personally growing, that are working for something larger, something bigger. I get a chance to do what I do.

Because I want to serve. I feel like I'm in a season of service, in this post cancer time of my life that I want to serve. And so I look at it and say, what's driving me is the act of service to be a light a little bit into your life. The ideas, the ideals and the principles that you need to take control of your financial future. Because I want you to experience the freedom that I experienced, the choice that I experienced. Because I see how life feels when you have that flexibility, when you have that latitude. And I didn't. I wasn't born into it. I didn't. It wasn't given to me. I had to create it from nothing. I lost it it in a Ponzi scheme. I had to recreate it. So whatever your age, whatever your stage, whatever your circumstances, it may not be easy to navigate through the Obstacles and the challenges.

But it's not impossible. And the hope of that achievement is important. I remember sitting with a friend of mine at dinner. He says, if you could only do one thing, one thing in your life and business, what would that be from a business standpoint? He said, I would speak. He says, really? That quickly? He says, so many people, they. Public speaking is a big fear of theirs. Why would you choose speaking so quickly? And I said, because it's the one place I get a chance to see people, to see you eye to eye, deliver what I know, and see hope.

And that sparkle of hope back in your eyes. And to me, the hope of achievement is a huge motivator to move people forward. Okay, leads me to number six. Number six is the capacity for applied faith. Now, we talked about the initial principle, but the idea that taking action with a trust that the process will work, looking at people who have run the miles, run the process over and over again, and it is proven. And so there's no reason that it won't work for you if you work for work the process. And so wealth builders know that there is a faith that needs to happen as you take action if you don't have references in your life to show that it works. So we have to just have faith in the process and faith that the net will appear if you need it, the steps will appear when you need it. So they take financial action before they feel ready to. And that's why I say the time to start building wealth is always now. If you haven't started before now, then now's the time. We don't wait. Okay, number seven, willingness to share one's blessings. This is generosity.

Our society sometimes wants to demonize money and demonize millionaires or wealthy people as if they're all.

You know, greedy, they're all selfish, and all consumed. Now that. I'm not saying that there aren't some that are out there that are like that, but the majority, the vast majority of millionaires, they give. They give of their time, they give of their money, they give of their knowledge. They give because. Because it multiplies one, their wealth, but it multiplies their impact and it multiplies their. Their fulfillment. Okay? The frank. The financial freedom, the true financial freedom, it really allows you to use your wealth to lift others up. And so finding ways to give back is huge. As a mentor, as someone that will value something beyond money. And so it's important to do that now. Number eight is a labor of love. Napoleon Hill talked about this, saying that the happiest and wealthiest people are those that love what they do. Now, this is really interesting because a lot of people will tell you, say, do what you love and the money will follow. And I think that's a bunch of hogwash. It's not true.

Follow your passions and the money will follow. No, that's not true. Okay. What the truth is, is take your passions, take what you love, and create value in other people's lives, then the money will follow. That's the missing link. You have to use it to create value. But that there's a difference between doing what you love and loving what you do. And I think we need to love what we do. Now, we're not going to love every single day, but the fact that we love what we do. I love what I do, but there are aspects of it that go, I don't want to do that. But all in all, I love what I do. That keeps me doing what I'm doing, but it also keeps me serving. It's this marriage between passion and skill and intelligence and allowing you to build wealth through service and passion and the generosity of the heart and the skill. So this is. I think this is a big one. Number nine, an open mind on all subjects. Stubbornness will limit growth. I mean that. And if. If we have not seen that in our current times, I don't know when we will. The fact is that when we close our minds off to.

Conversations, to openness, to do that, we limit our ability to grow as a person. We limit our ability to grow financially. And the wealthiest people are constantly in a state of learning. They're constantly adapting or evolving. They're open to things. It doesn't mean they accept everything. And that's not what we're talking about. But we're having open conversations, dialogues that allow us to say, hey, what I thought a year ago or two years ago or five years ago doesn't hold true today because I learned more, because I knew more, because I know more now. Okay? So be open to new financial strategies. Be open to new ideas, be open to new opportunities, be open to doing new things, and it'll change. Number 10, self discipline. No self discipline equals no wealth. Period. End of story. I mean, it truly is. This is a discipline behavior game. It is not a money game. Financial freedom requires you to have discipline, to create a vision, to have a plan, follow the plan, make smart decisions in conjunction with a plan, and follow strategies. That means that you're going to spend less than you make. You're going to follow rules like my wealth Priority letter in my book. You're going to delay some things, delay gratification on some things. You're going to take care of certain things. All those things come into play. If we have no self discipline, we will not find our path to financial freedom. It's just not going to happen. So here's where you start to look at things, say, how do I get and build self discipline in, well, automation. Automate savings and investing. Set investing rules. I put investing rules in place to keep me safe, keep my family safe, keep my clients safe. I talk about it in my book, but those rules came out of the fact that I didn't have the discipline to follow those rules that got me into the Ponzi scheme. Wiped out one third of everything I own. It also, having self discipline starts to remove emotional decision making. Emotional decision making when it comes to money never works out good. Okay? That leads me to number 11. And Napoleon Hill, number 11 said, the capacity to understand people. Money is deeply tied to relationships, to negotiation, to persuasion. But what is that tied to? Well, I think it's tied to communication, it's tied to leadership, it's tied to influence, it's tied to relating to people, it's tied to empathy, it's tied to understanding. And so when we're truly trying to build wealth, we need to be able to have the capacity to understand people, okay, and understand that money is emotionally charged. Not because money is that way, but it's because we put meaning into money. We put meaning into people that we see are wealthy or not wealthy, and we judge and we need to be aware of that. And we need to have the capacity to understand where they're coming from, who they are, and be willing to communicate more effectively. And then number 12 is economic security. This is financial independence, financial freedom. The ultimate goal of wealth building is, is to have that financial security. That's that stability, to have choice in life. Money should give you the freedom of time, the freedom of choice, and the freedom of purpose. I get to get up every single day and decide.

I have a choice of how I'm going to spend my time.

Am I on purpose to focus my time in a direction that I choose to direct? That's the reason that I say on this show that our job is to help you master money, eliminate financial stress so you can live a life of choice. I want you to have the choice in life to work, to not work, to travel, to do what you want. That's the reason we do this. It's not for the big bank account. It's for the choice account. All right, so how do you apply this in your life? I think there's four steps to apply this. The biggest takeaway is that wealth is not just about what's in the bank account. I said this before. It's about your habits. It's about your mindset. It's about your systems. It's about the things you do over time. It's about how you relate to people. It's about the richness in your life. So step number one is define your wealth vision. Define that vision for you, that lifestyle, what it is. Be crystal clear on what you want it to look like, what you want it to feel like. Talk about the domains of life, whether it's. Whether it's financial, health, family, business, career, all those things, all the domains, what is it? Define it once and for all. Number two is to build and create a dynamic plan. We talk about this in my money machine master plan, where we're building this bespoke custom plan to your vision that you create a plan to define the path. The purpose of a plan is not to have a plan. The purpose of the plan is to have a path. And when you have a path to the vision, now, you know the steps you need to take to get there. But we need the plan to make it happen. We need the map to make it real. Number three is to focus on the 12 riches, to realize that even if you calculate your financial freedom number, you're not going after the number. You're going after the life the number gives you. And so, so Focusing on the 12 riches becomes important. And I would use it as a checklist and say, how, as I'm creating the vision, how do these riches come into play? And what do they look like in your life? And do it that way. And number four, build the wealth habits. Truly, truly building wealth. Wealth creation is about habits, choices, and decisions. It's your behaviors. We build the behaviors, we build the habits. We make the right decisions. We will build the right bank account, and we will build the rich life that we want. All right. I think that this book is one of the most powerful, yet overlooked guides to wealth and success because it does connect with money. But more importantly, it's not just about money. It's about building truly a rich life. And I think that's really what we want. And so I hope that you found this valuable as we went through it. You may want to find a copy, read it for yourself, see for yourself. But I think it's a old book that still applies today. All right. Again. Let me know your thoughts. Let me know which one of the 12 riches really kind of hit the spot and what you're going to do next. I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to guide you. I'd love to be by your side on this journey to your financial freedom. Until I get a chance to see you on the next one or on your road to financial freedom. As I always say, always, always strive to live a life that outlives you. See you in the next one. Thank you for listening to the affluent entrepreneurs with me, your host, Mel Abraham. If you want to achieve financial liberation to create an affluent lifestyle, join me in the affluent entrepreneur Facebook group now by going to melabraham.com group and I'll see you there.

And that's it for this episode of Building your money machine where we help you learn how to master your money, eliminate financial stress and learn live a life of choice. If you found this valuable or helpful to you, here's what I'd love for you to do. If you do me a favor, go to Apple, Apple Podcast, or wherever you're listening to this podcast and rate and review the show. It helps us tremendously to keep us at the top of the list so we can continue to get this information and this message out to people. Because I truly believe that financial freedom is your birthright and I want to help each and every one of you claim it. Thanks so much.