We are living in the Golden Age of Mankind. Not the Dark Ages, not the Middle Ages, not the Classical Age, the Industrial Age, but the Golden Age.

What does this mean? Essentially historians have labeled our times as Golden because of the overwhelming possibilities for human beings to become prosperous and live lives of abundance and happiness.

Yet despite such possibilities, many still struggle because the are unaware or choose to ignore the laws of financial freedom.

Financial independence is simply defined as:

The ability to live from the income of your personally invested resources.

How does one go about reaching a point of financial independence? Glad you asked. Here we go, as practiced by self-made people from all walks of life.

Extremely prosperous, financially independent people:

1. Value their money. They value each dollar bill as a money seed. Wealthy people know that a dollar a day can grow into a million dollars. So they are very respectful of every dollar they spend.

2. Control their money. They control their money down to the penny. Prosperous people take a few extra steps every time they spend money: (a) they shop for the best value, (B) they ask for and expect a discount, (c) they examine their receipts for mistakes, (d) they attempt to turn expenditure into a legitimate tax-deductible business expense, (e) they know the score, balancing their check book to the penny (f) they file their receipts.

3. Save money. They save at least 10% of what they earn, never ever touching this money. As their income increases, so does the amount they save, from 10, to 15, to 20% and upwards. As their income rises, they save more and more.

4. Invest money. They invest before they spend, following their own, simple allocation system. They understand that investing is not at all complicated, nor should it ever become so.

5. Earn more money. They understand that their greatest asset is themselves and therefore their ability to earn from Multiple Streams of Income outside their vocation.

6. Protect their money. Money lost is more than that. It is time lost in earning it. They therefore protect themselves with trusts, corporations, limited partnerships, and other legal entities. They have very few assets in their name.

7. Give back. They establish or are aligned with foundations to which they donate 10% of their money. Period. The more they donate, the more the Universe gives back.

Action: How are you doing when it comes to the habits just mentioned?

In what way can you begin to incorporate such behaviors into your money management skills?

There are no excuses by the way. We've heard them all before. People from the most humble beginnings and catastrophic setbacks have achieved financial freedom. So can you.

Long Term Thinking, Short Term Focus

The most precious commodity in this world is time. How many of us are time poor these days? Just seems to be a universal pandemic, especially in the western world.

Deployed correctly, one can design and live a magnificent life. Contrary, if one chooses to waste the hours on frivolous activities, then life is mediocre at best.

Let’s cut to the chase.

Everyone talks about time management. Do this. Do that. Try this. Use this new management system ……. the list is endless. Here’s the best advice I can give, derived from the experiences of some of the best people I've worked with.

Think Long Term

Number one life management tool is to project yourself forward 5, 10, even 20 years. In the year 2015, what does your life look like? What have you mastered? What sort of relationships are you in? Where are you working, living, traveling, investing, socializing?

Recall, that clarity is the key. The greater the clarity, the higher the probability of achieving the intended outcome. Once more (yes, this is important)

The greater the clarity, the higher the probability of achieving the intended outcome.

Recall that only 3% of people ever contemplate their life in detail.