As Robert Kiyosaki points out in his book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," one of the first steps on the road to wealth is recognizing which business you are in.

Regardless of whether you have a job working for someone else or you own your own business, you must see yourself as being in "business."  Being in business for yourself really starts with a state of mind.  A way of thinking before you actually form a legally recognized business.

If you think you are working for other people, you are right.  If you believe you are working for yourself, you are right.

There are those who think they own a business when all they really own is a job.  That is the business only works when they do.  As soon as they stop working, the income and cash flow stop.  Often these people work many times harder than people who work for an employer.

A business that is a real asset is one that continues to grow and create new cash flow for you even when you are doing something else.   Regardless of your profession or what your business appears to be to others, your real business is to create and acquire cash flow generating assets.

Bill Gate's profession is a developer of software.  His business was to create Microsoft as an independent, cash producing asset.

If your focus is simply working for a raise or a bonus or working overtime or looking for a higher paying job, you are not minding your own business.   Those things are great when you are starting out, but you will be much better off if you take your thinking beyond these things to focus on creating and acquiring assets.

In the Rich Dad philosophy, which I agree with, your real business is to own assets which generate passive cash flow that exceeds your personal living expenses.  So, even when you are working for others, you are minding your own business when you divert a portion of your income from employment to acquiring cash flow assets.

Another advantage of adopting the attitude that you are always working for yourself and that your employer is your "client," it changes your thoughts towards your job.  That attitude change tends to make you happier and opens up new opportunities.

But this attitude must be tempered with the idea that you need to mind your business of collecting personal assets.  If you spend too much time at your job, you won't have enough free time to take care of your own business.  I know that from personal experience.

 

This is counter to what most of us are taught by our parents and in school.  The primary focus of most educational programs is to churn out an educated work force conditioned to go work for others.  While this is important, it is only a start.  We must also teach true financial literacy to open up a greater number of choices for students. 

What are some examples of assets worth acquiring or creating?

• Businesses that do not require your presence.
• Real Estate.
• Stocks and Bonds.
• Loans (notes).
• Royalties from intellectual properties.

When successful, what these have in common is that they are assets that produce cash flow regardless of your personal efforts.  The idea that you can simply go to school and get a "safe" job is not a great strategy for creating wealth for most people.  Even in the exceptions where someone is a highly paid top executive in a major company, they need to understand how to grow and create assets.  Otherwise, they won't be an executive for very long.  In reality, they likely already have this mindset or they wouldn't have earned that job.

This information is written for people who haven't achieved their desired level of success yet.  If this is you, keep your daytime job (obviously), but resolve right now that you are going to start minding your own business and grow your personal assets.

Here are some affirmations to help you condition your mind:

• I am now building my own business.
• I am now working only for myself.
• My passive income is multiplying even while I eat, play or sleep.
• My assets are working for me 24 hours a day.
• I only buy luxuries last.  I build cash flow first and my passive cash flow pays for my luxuries.
• I now attract other people to cooperate with me for our mutual advantage.
• I am now a wise investor in stocks, bonds, real estate, and other cash producing assets.
• By reviewing the cash flow and true value of an investment, I only invest in sound business opportunities.
• I am now building self-perpetuating businesses that do not require my presence.

New Bottled Water Recommendation

Earlier this month in my article about alkalizing and energizing your body for better health, I wrote about Essentia Water.  I want to let everyone know about another product that I have recently tried that I think is superb:  Penta Water.  I will warn you in advance that this bottled water is very expensive related to other waters.  In California, it sells for $1.65 for a half-liter.  But I will also tell you that after drinking it consistently for about a week, it is probably far and away the best water I have ever had.

While it tested neutral for alkalinity, based on the research I found at the Penta website (www.pentawater.com), the special qualities of the water actually create a very high alkalizing effect on the body.  Without going into all of the details, not only do they purify the water to a high degree, they also use physics to change the structure of the water so that it creates smaller water clusters at the molecular level.  There are other things they do (without adding anything to the water) that appear to have a very beneficial effect.  I suggest that you visit their website and read the research for yourself.  While it is a bit on the glitzy side, based on my personal experience, I don't think they are overselling their product.

The real proof to me was after I tested my own alkalinity after a few days on the product.  Without making any other changes to my diet, the litmus strip came out a very dark blue.  It seems clear to me that this is primarily due to drinking a large amount of Penta (about 3 liters or more per day).

The bottom line:  if you can afford to drink it regularly (start using those affirmations so you can!), I recommend Penta over any other bottled water currently on the market.