They say money won’t buy happiness but, according to “Secrets of The Millionaire Mind” author and creator of 11 personal development courses including the millionaire mind intensive, T. Harv Eker, there’s no need to choose.
I had the good fortune to speak with Harv (you can drop the T., he said) recently as part of my upcoming, free Art of Mindful Wealth Summit. In our time together, we discussed the meaning of success (hint: it has a lot to do with mindful wealth), why so many don’t succeed, and how one can turn it all around. Buckle up and get ready for a fascinating ride.
What is Mindful Wealth?
For Harv and the over 1.5 million students worldwide who have taken his courses, success can be defined as the creation of financial freedom — while also enjoying the ride. That, he said, is also how he would define mindful wealth. Harv, who admittedly spent 12 years broke before cracking the wealth code, says he eventually learned to be rich, but it took him even longer to figure out how to balance the rest of his life.
“The big problem for me is I was doing very well financially, but other things were suffering,” he said. “My health suffered, I ended up divorced, and I didn’t see my children often. For many years, those are the parts I couldn’t get down.”
Harv isn’t alone.
“Most people live in a world where either they get rich, or they’re happy. To marry the two is an art form,” he said.Eventually, he learned the secret to financial and emotional success has more to do with mindset than with anything else.
Life in the Fast Lane
Many people believe that if you do what you love, you won’t make any money. In fact, Harv learned just that lesson from watching his parents, while growing up. Today, he couldn’t disagree more.
“Imagine you’re on a freeway and you know exactly where you’re going, and your exit isn’t coming up anytime soon,” he said, explaining that most people in that situation would choose to drive in the fast lane.
“Now, instead, imagine you’re not sure where exactly where you’re going, and you don’t like what you’re doing,” he went on. “If you don’t like what you’re doing in your career and your spirit is suffering, you’re looking for a way out.” On the highway, that would translate to driving in the slow lane, so you don’t miss your exit.
“That’s what it’s like for everyone who’s not aligned with their true interest. When you’re not there, your spirit is always looking for an exit,” he said. “Whether you know it or not, you are driving in the slow lane — and you will until you get to do what you really want to be doing.”
How to Succeed
“Everything has to do with your mentality,” Hard said. “The greatest risk on earth would be to be in a job where someone else is signing your paycheck. How could you be in a more vulnerable position than that?”
Harv said the secret to building wealth lies in the creation of an income strategy that has no upper limit. If you work for someone else, or you provide a one-on-one service, he said, the hours you can work are limited. That limits your income potential.
Even so, Harv admits that not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. For those who work for someone else, he suggests a not-so-simple, yet effective strategy: being the best at what you do (he recommends this for entrepreneurs, too, by the way). “People in a job are always looking to get paid for more of their time. Owners are always looking to pay more for results,” he said. “If you want to do well financially, you have to get paid based on your performance, based on the results you provide.”
The ultimate secret, he said, is to pick a path you love, and then focus 100 percent of your energy on it, at least for a while. Still, he said it’s okay to start small. There’s no need to give up your current income and dive right in. Instead, he suggested working your 40-hour-per week job and then coming home to put in another 20, but on your new gig. “If you’re working 40 hours a week but you’re not willing to take a few extra hours to test out a new situation,” he said, “you probably won’t succeed.”
In the end, he said, the only reason to trade your life energy for money is because you believe that, at some point in the future, that money will make you happier. “If what you do to create money makes you unhappy, then what’s the point?” he said. And he’s right. Creating money while doing what you love is exactly what mindful wealth is all about.
You can listen to my interviews with 26 highly inspirational leaders like T Harv Eker, Bruce Van Horn, Pamela Bruner, Chris Ducker and many more as part of my free Art of Mindful Wealth Virtual Conference starting in late July by visiting www.artofmindfulwealth.com — I hope to see you there!
