I was recently pondering why you hear so many stories about people that were dirt poor right before they became rich monetarily. I’m sure you hear the stories because they make good stories. But some of the greatest people in business were flat broke before they became wealthy.

Dan Vega was driving a car where he had to climb in through the passenger door without A/C or heat. He had no real assets and came from meager beginnings. One day he had enough and now drives a BMW, closes 7 figure deals and consults on business plans that are structured to produce tens of billions of dollars. Bill Bartmann was living with family, a million dollars in debt and filed bankruptcy. He started with a computer on the kitchen table and, in a short time, became a billionaire. Robert Kiyosaki had grown up poor, went through the military and started a business that amassed him millions which reversed and brought him millions in debt. He was living in a car and used his last money to go out to eat (burgers) with Kim (his wife). In short order, he became a multi-millionaire. Donald Trump built a slow and steady real estate empire that reversed on him and left him millions of dollars in debt.  He said that “the vagrant on the street had more money than him.” In less than a year, he turned it all around and is now a billionaire. Bill Gates started off without the ability to pay his employees. He was broke and sold “vision” to him employees. When vision didn’t work he paid them in stock. Now he is the richest man on earth.

Over and over and over you read about people that were broke and/or deep in debt that flipped it all around and became super wealthy. I was discussing this with a business partner of mine (who also happens to be my best friend and wife) as I pondered “must you be poor or deep in debt to become rich?” As the discussion grew I came to a few realizations that I hold to be true.

I believed that each and every one of these individuals had reached a point where they said, “enough is enough!” They had hit rock bottom and just resolved to not allow that to happen to them anymore. They made a conscience decision that they would not be broke anymore and that they would do whatever it took to change their situation. They all found that “gear” that would only allow them to drive forward and not allow for a reverse. They found their drive which pushed them forward when the world was trying to push them backwards. This made them efficient and focused earners which added fuel to their skills to make money.

It is also my personal opinion that you must appreciate what you have and have a healthy respect for money which leads to better money management skills. If you do not appreciate what you have, you take it for granted. If you cannot appreciate and respect the smaller things in life it is impossible to appreciate and respect the bigger things in life. Disrespect shows a lack of care. No respect for money or what you have means that you don’t care about it. If you do not care about it, then it is unimportant and consequently you do not hold onto it. People who have lost it all and bounce back as wealthy business people definitely learned to respect what they had and relegated to appreciate all that they were able to acquire. This made them more efficient and focused managers which added fuel to their skills to keep money.

And that is what it boils down to. Just as it takes one set of skills to make money and another set of skills to keep money. It also takes a trained and intentional frame of mind to make money and a learned mindset to keep it. That is what all of the people above had in common. They all achieved that mental station where they had their backs against the wall and their choice was to fight or flight. When they chose to fight, they also chose to never flight again. They also relegated to never let themselves get to the place where their backs were against that proverbial wall again. That place was o uncomfortable that they would do whatever it took to never return. The loss and then lack of everything in their lives made them driven and appreciative people.

So, do you have to be poor before you become rich? My final answer on this is “no.” However, all of those who became flat broke before they became wealthy, have the ability to do it all over again. If you took every penny and every possession away from each and every individual listed. They would be back on top of the world in less than a year. In order to become rich and stay rich, you need to hone your skills on making money and keeping money. They are equally important skills. You also need to find that gear that only pushes you forward no matter what and appreciate each and everything you have in your life. Hopefully, you can do all of this without becoming poor. But, in order to accomplish this, you must be mindful and find your “why” before life takes everything and your “why” is forced upon you as survival.

This week’s motivational quote is:

Successful inventions and ideas are centered around convenience – Robert Kiyosaki

I am unsure whether Mr. Kiyosaki defined that phrase as an original thought, however I did hear for the first time in one of his audio books. Regardless, the point stands true. Look at all of the wildly successful ideas and inventions and you will notice most, if not all, center around convenience. Facebook makes it convenient to reconnect with old contacts, keep up with current contacts and meet new ones all in one interface. As much as I dislike Wal-Mart, it became extremely successful because Sam Walton went to the rural areas and provided stores where the local populous could get everything they wanted under one roof. It was convenient. Netflix has made Blockbuster Video and Movie Gallery almost obsolete. Why? Movies delivered to your door and return them when you get around to it. It is convenient.

So, when creating your new idea or invention or redesigning your current ones, keep this post in mind.

Many of us were raised to go to school and get a good job. This was sound advice in the industrial age. But we are now in the Information Age and maintaining the same mantra is making America fall further and further behind the curve. Please do not misunderstand me. I believe in education. I just do not believe in the formal educational system to acquire a better job or propel you forward in business.

There are a few fields for which a formal college education is still a viable and required foundation for a profession, such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, psychiatrists, and a few others in the medical, legal, and mathematical fields. They attend college to learn the basis for their profession. However, all of them are required to seek continued education to stay up to date in their fields. It seems accepted for someone who paid ten to hundreds of thousands for their education to pay for courses in the thousands to tens of thousands in the continuing educational field.

Entrepreneurs, wake up! You may attend college to get a basic knowledge of business and accounting. But the real knowledge gained that is needed to be a successful entrepreneur is not learned from a college classroom. It is learned from experience and from other entrepreneurs. You cannot buy experience. But you can buy knowledge from others in the form of classes and seminars taught by entrepreneurs that have already succeeded in the realm that you seek success. If you want to learn about financial literacy, you seek out Robert Kiyosaki. If you want to learn about self growth, you seek Tony Robbins. If you want to learn about entrepreneurialism and practical application of that knowledge, you seek Daniel Vega. And the list goes on and on (Zig Ziglar, Donald Trump, T. Harv Eker, Napoleon Hill, etc) depending upon what type of specialized knowledge you seek.

These are your professors in entrepreneurialism. Why do you hesitate to pay $500 for a seminar or $5000 for a class. These seminars and classes are specially designed and tailored just for your specific need for information. To put it in perspective, to enroll in MU (Missouri State University) in the Spring of 2009 for 20 credit hours is about $5500 and that does not include your books or any extra course specific classes or materials required (info found here). Let’s assume, conservatively, that your books and materials were only $500. That means that you would spend $12,000 for one year of education. Here is my question, as an entrepreneur, do you spend $12,000 a year on your own education? $6000? $1000? Most of you spend nothing on your education and that is horrible. Why is that? The excuses I hear are “I do not have the time” or “I do not have the money.” I am here to tell you like it is, “That is a load of crap!” If you are not growing your mind you are stagnate. Stagnation in the entrepreneurial world equals death. In comparison to traditional colleges the classes are less expensive and more focused towards your particular needs. And you can receive your education, and often times mentorship, in less time. From my perspective, you have to make time and you can’t afford not to invest in your education. If you don’t you will have plenty of time on your hands and no money when your competition learns what you refused to and continued to progress while you regressed. Small business is the backbone of the US and the leaders in innovation. If we are falling behind, you can clearly see the reason. Entrepreneurs, the ones who create small businesses, do not invest in their number one asset: THEMSELVES.

President Obama stated that the only way we are going to ever going to reduce our national debt is to make ourselves more valuable. We make ourselves more valuable by increasing our education and our ability. The President went on to state that this included Alternative Education, which includes seminars and non-accredited classes. Doesn’t it make sense that if you do what the millionaires do that you will receive the results the millionaires receive? You are an entrepreneur which means you are a person of action. Your money spent on your education, if paid for by your company, is often tax deductible. It is also an investment that never depreciates, compounds in value as you add more to it, and no one can ever take from you. Quit procrastinating and making excuses and get started. Your future depends on it.

**Note: If you are looking for specific seminars or classes and are having a difficult time selecting one, contact me with your requirements and I will be happy to refer you to one that meets your needs.

What you don’t know costs you money. That was a statement I learned from Keith Cunningham, mentor of Robert Kiyosaki. As an entrepreneur and a business person, you must realize that information is power. Information is power because it has the power to influence a result. Generally that result can mean a return of revenue. Following that logic, not having pertinent and relevant information can result in a loss of revenue. Hence, what you don’t know costs you money.

As an entrepreneur you need to continually increase your awareness and education. For if you do not, you are not growing. In business and in life, if you are not growing you are dying. It is a necessity for you and your entity to continue your education and refresh your awareness of pertinent information. The three most common sources to help you accomplish this goal is to self educate, your network or team, and current periodical media.

Self education is easier than it sounds. Peruse the aisles of your favorite bookstore. You will find many self-help books (written and audio) that cover a full spectrum of topics. Regardless of your industry, financial education and sales process education are needed. That is a good place to start if you are stuck. You can visit our education section to view a selection of literary works that we recommend. In addition, there should be volumes of books that pertain to your industry, both past and present. History repeats itself so we can all learn from history.

Having highly informed individuals on your team, both in-house and extended outside professional, can keep you abreast of information that may pertain to you. For example, having an excellent accountant on your team that stays up to date on current tax law and informs you of vital changes can save you hundreds to thousands of dollars. Or an internal member of your team that notices, and knows to inform you of, a new company that applied for a business license in your city and they are the type of business that utilizes your product or service. Knowing about them before your competitors can make you hundreds to thousands of dollars. Your extended network, through social networking and otherwise, can be a quick and ready source of information from various parts of the country or the world. If you keep them in mind when you learn of something that can help your extended network, generally they will return the favor when they learn of information that may pertain to you.

Lastly, current periodical media is a great source of new information. This medium ranges from blogs, radio, and newspapers to magazines, newsletters and television. Doing a little research and asking for recommendations from those you trust, you can find a few blogs that update their content regularly and their content is trustworthy. Updates from them can easily be delivered to your email or favorite RSS reader. Trade magazines and trade newsletters are wonderful sources of industry specific information and updates. Your local newspaper is a goldmine of possibilities. Newspapers publish many problems in your local area. Entrepreneurs solve problems for profit. So your local newspaper is really an opportunity paper. Radio and television are fast sources of the latest and greatest happenings locally and around the world. News, in current times, from the radio and television generally have a slant to them and report mostly the worst of what is happening. But the more you listen and the more you watch, the better your internal content filters will become. Regardless of source, I always recommend that you verify any content before you consider it actionable.

Make it a point to continually self educate and keep abreast of pertinent information that pertains to your business and you personally. In the Information Age it is a necessity. For, as I said, what you don’t know costs you money. Learn more so life will cost you less.