Power of Money By Adam Khoo

( Adam Khoo is Singapore 's youngest  millionaire at 26 yrs.)

 

Some of you may  already know that I travel around the region pretty frequently, having  to visit and conduct seminars at my offices in Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailandand Suzhou( China ). I am in the  airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who  have attended my seminars or have read my  books. Recently,  someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather  shocked.  He asked, 'How  come a millionaire like you is traveling  economy?'  My reply was,  'That's why I am a millionaire. ' He still looked pretty  confused.

 This again  confirms that greatest lie ever told about  wealth (which I wrote  about in my latest book 'Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires' ). Many  people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear  Gucci, Hugo Boss,  Rolex, and sit  on first class in air travel. This is why so  many people  never become rich because the moment that earn  moremoney, they  think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to  square one.

The truth is  that most self-made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is  necessary and of value.  That is why they  are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much  faster.

Over the last 7  years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only  about 60% (because I have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to  support).  Still, it is way  above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are  lucky).

I refuse to buy  a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a  complete waste of money. However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2-year  old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and Drama without thinking  twice.

When I joined  the YEO (Young Entrepreneur' s Orgn) a few years back (YEO) is an  exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year  in their own business) I discovered that those who were self-made  thought like me.  Many of them with net worth well over $5m,  travelled economy class and some even drove Toyota 's and  Nissans, not Audis, Mercs, BMWs.

I noticed that  it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth  (there were also a few ministers' and tycoons' sons in the club) who  spent like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, when you did not have to  build everything from scratch, you do not really value money. This is  precisely the reason why a family's wealth (no matter how  much) rarely lasts past the third generation.

Thank God my rich dad foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent  to start my business. 

Then some people  ask me, 'What is the point in making so much money if you don't enjoy  it?' The thing is that I don't really find happiness in buying branded  clothes, jewellery or sitting first class.  Even if buying  something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not  last.

Material  happiness never lasts, it just give you a quick fix. After a while you  feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will  make you happy.  I always think  that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a  pretty sad and unfulfilled life.

Instead, what  makes me happy is when I see my children laughing and playing and  learning so fast. What makes me happy is when I see my companies and  trainers reaching more and more people every year in so many more  countries.

What makes me  really happy is when I read all the emails about how my books and  seminars have touched and inspired someone's  life.

What makes me  really happy is reading all your wonderful posts about how this blog is  inspiring you. This happiness makes me feel really good for a long time,  much much more than what a Rolex would do for  me.

I think the  point I want to put across is that happiness must come from doing your  life's work (be it teaching, building homes, designing, trading, winning  tournaments etc.) and the money that comes is only a  by-product.

 

If you hate what  you are doing and rely on the money you earn to make you happy by buying  stuff, then I think that you are living a life of  meaninglessness.