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- Sep 25, 2007
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Hi all,The following is based on an article in the June 30 - July 6 edition of Business in Vancouver (www.biv.com). [You must be a subscriber to access the article.] The author is Thane Stenner, the founder of Stenner Investment Partners within GMP Private Client L.P. (www.stennerinvestmentpartners.com). I personally believe that being wealthly or successful is an inside out process. As T. Harv Ecker says, "Thoughs lead to feelings, feelings lead to actions [the inner game] and actions lead to results [the outer game]. If you want to know how successful you are look at your results." What caught my attention in the article was the second point, "The Value of Time". It caught my attention because Patrick Francey brought this to our attention at the REIN A.L.I.F.E. conference last weekend in his presentation "Time Management: What is the Real Cost to Not Managng Your Most Valuable Asset?" Given that the one thing we all have in common is a 24-hour day, successful people make more productive use of their hours than less successful people do.
To digress for a moment, the exercise that Patrick had us spend some time on - defining the number of truly productive hours we have in a day and discovering our "Productive Hour Multiplier" - was not the first time that I have done (seen actually) this excercise. I first came across it in Dan Kennedy`s book, "No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Kick Butt Take No Prisoners Guide to Time Productivity and Sanity" three or four years ago. Doing the exercise again last weekend made clear that knowledge isn`t power (it`s actually potential power); applied knowledge is power. I am grateful to Patrick for bringing it to my/our attention again. I also did some self-reflection - where would I be today if I had applied this information three or four years ago and, more importantly, why didn`t I apply it? There is probably a "Big Fat Lie" at the root of this question as Steffany Hanlen would say. I also made a committment (as Steffany would say, "What are you SO done with?") to work through all of the excercises I receive from hereon in and to apply what I have learned (productive time).
The four points in Thane`s article are:
- Don`t Water the Wine (insist on quality);
- The Value of Time (time saved is money added);
- Be Brave (having courage); and
- Wealth is a Tool (it is not an end in itself, it is a tool for accomplishing life goals (your Personal Belize as Don would say)).
Following is the article. I have place "The Value of Time" first as it is what caught my attention and is the point that I am trying to reinforce.
To earn like a millionaire you have to think like a millionaire. It`s not the money. It`s the mind.
This is the lesson I have learned through working with the wealthy over the past 20 years. Simply put, the wealthy think differently: about money, about investing, about life. A lot of people get this one wrong. They assume being rich means using money differently. These people are looking in the wrong place. Sure, affluent individuals use advanced strategies to manage their wealth. But before they became millionaires, they had to have "the millionaire mind"– a way of thinking that leads to financial and life success. Allow me to outline four critical components of that thinking by way of some personal anecdotes and observations I`ve gleaned from real-life millionaires I`ve worked with. Hopefully, by shaping your mind after theirs, your wealth will grow like theirs
The Value of Time
r />I had a conversation with one of my clients several months ago; he told me he was closing a deal to buy a private jet. I asked him how he came to make his decision. "I value my time," was his response. He said he calculated his hourly earnings based on the expected long-term return on his investment portfolio, divided by a 40-hour workweek (the figure came out to about $20,000 per hour). If a private jet could save a few hours on every trip he made for business or pleasure over the year, it would more than pay for itself.
Most of the wealthy entrepreneurs I`ve met share this perspective. They`re willing to invest in technologies, services, systems and advisers that save them time, because they realize time saved is money added to their net worth.
Don`t Water the Wine
Some months ago I read Geoffrey Beattie`s column on the "builder`s principles" his boss Kenneth Thomson passed on to him. Now the CEO of Woodbridge Co. (the multibillion-dollar Thomson family holding company), Beattie follows the same principles his boss did.
"Don`t water the wine," was rule No. 1. In other words, insist on quality. Remarkably simple advice that I`ve heard echoed by many of the wealthy business owners I know. If your goal is to build wealth, invest in excellent businesses with excellent long-term prospects. Diversify to protect your wealth, but don`t diversify aimlessly. Rather, diversify by investing in other excellent businesses.
Be Brave
In an average week, I speak to perhaps a dozen clients. That number has tripled since last summer. My clients are deeply interested in the current financial turmoil. But not for the reasons you might think.
My clients aren`t looking for information. They`re looking for opportunity. They`re calling me because they want to learn about the opportunities created by the current financial crisis, and how they can profit from the herd`s pessimism. Some call this value investing. Others call it contrarianism. I call it courage.
Wealth is a Tool
Most of the business owners I know are satisfied with their accomplishments and at peace with themselves. Why? Because while they all care about their wealth, they understand money is not an end unto itself but, rather, a tool for accomplishing life goals.
These people have given their wealth a purpose. They`re willing to spend money in the pursuit of their life goals – whether that goal be a growing business, a charitable foundation or simply a happy and financially secure family. If you wish to be wealthy one day, let this be your first and most important step toward that goal.
Keith
To digress for a moment, the exercise that Patrick had us spend some time on - defining the number of truly productive hours we have in a day and discovering our "Productive Hour Multiplier" - was not the first time that I have done (seen actually) this excercise. I first came across it in Dan Kennedy`s book, "No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Kick Butt Take No Prisoners Guide to Time Productivity and Sanity" three or four years ago. Doing the exercise again last weekend made clear that knowledge isn`t power (it`s actually potential power); applied knowledge is power. I am grateful to Patrick for bringing it to my/our attention again. I also did some self-reflection - where would I be today if I had applied this information three or four years ago and, more importantly, why didn`t I apply it? There is probably a "Big Fat Lie" at the root of this question as Steffany Hanlen would say. I also made a committment (as Steffany would say, "What are you SO done with?") to work through all of the excercises I receive from hereon in and to apply what I have learned (productive time).
The four points in Thane`s article are:
- Don`t Water the Wine (insist on quality);
- The Value of Time (time saved is money added);
- Be Brave (having courage); and
- Wealth is a Tool (it is not an end in itself, it is a tool for accomplishing life goals (your Personal Belize as Don would say)).
Following is the article. I have place "The Value of Time" first as it is what caught my attention and is the point that I am trying to reinforce.
To earn like a millionaire you have to think like a millionaire. It`s not the money. It`s the mind.
This is the lesson I have learned through working with the wealthy over the past 20 years. Simply put, the wealthy think differently: about money, about investing, about life. A lot of people get this one wrong. They assume being rich means using money differently. These people are looking in the wrong place. Sure, affluent individuals use advanced strategies to manage their wealth. But before they became millionaires, they had to have "the millionaire mind"– a way of thinking that leads to financial and life success. Allow me to outline four critical components of that thinking by way of some personal anecdotes and observations I`ve gleaned from real-life millionaires I`ve worked with. Hopefully, by shaping your mind after theirs, your wealth will grow like theirs
The Value of Time
r />I had a conversation with one of my clients several months ago; he told me he was closing a deal to buy a private jet. I asked him how he came to make his decision. "I value my time," was his response. He said he calculated his hourly earnings based on the expected long-term return on his investment portfolio, divided by a 40-hour workweek (the figure came out to about $20,000 per hour). If a private jet could save a few hours on every trip he made for business or pleasure over the year, it would more than pay for itself.
Most of the wealthy entrepreneurs I`ve met share this perspective. They`re willing to invest in technologies, services, systems and advisers that save them time, because they realize time saved is money added to their net worth.
Don`t Water the Wine
Some months ago I read Geoffrey Beattie`s column on the "builder`s principles" his boss Kenneth Thomson passed on to him. Now the CEO of Woodbridge Co. (the multibillion-dollar Thomson family holding company), Beattie follows the same principles his boss did.
"Don`t water the wine," was rule No. 1. In other words, insist on quality. Remarkably simple advice that I`ve heard echoed by many of the wealthy business owners I know. If your goal is to build wealth, invest in excellent businesses with excellent long-term prospects. Diversify to protect your wealth, but don`t diversify aimlessly. Rather, diversify by investing in other excellent businesses.
Be Brave
In an average week, I speak to perhaps a dozen clients. That number has tripled since last summer. My clients are deeply interested in the current financial turmoil. But not for the reasons you might think.
My clients aren`t looking for information. They`re looking for opportunity. They`re calling me because they want to learn about the opportunities created by the current financial crisis, and how they can profit from the herd`s pessimism. Some call this value investing. Others call it contrarianism. I call it courage.
Wealth is a Tool
Most of the business owners I know are satisfied with their accomplishments and at peace with themselves. Why? Because while they all care about their wealth, they understand money is not an end unto itself but, rather, a tool for accomplishing life goals.
These people have given their wealth a purpose. They`re willing to spend money in the pursuit of their life goals – whether that goal be a growing business, a charitable foundation or simply a happy and financially secure family. If you wish to be wealthy one day, let this be your first and most important step toward that goal.
Keith