MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom (14 page)

If you value certainty as the most important need in your life, you’re going to move in a very different direction, act differently in relationships, in business and finance, than if love is your number one need. If we get underneath what you’re really after, it’s not money at all.
What you’re really after is what you think money is going to give you.
Ultimately, it’s a set of feelings. And beneath those feelings are needs.

NEED 1:
CERTAINTY/COMFORT

The first human need is the need for Certainty.
It’s our need to feel in control and to know what’s coming next so we can feel secure. It’s the need for basic comfort, the need to avoid pain and stress, and also to create pleasure. Does this make sense? Our need for certainty is a survival mechanism. It affects how much risk we’re willing to take in life—in our jobs, in our investments, and in our relationships.
The higher the need for certainty, the less risk you’ll be willing to take or emotionally bear.
By the way, this is where your real “risk tolerance” comes from.

But what if you’re totally certain all the time?
If you knew what was going to happen, when it was going to happen, how it was going to happen.
You knew what people were going to say before they said it. How would you feel? At first you’d feel extraordinary, but eventually you’d be what? Bored out of your mind!

NEED 2:
UNCERTAINTY/VARIETY

So, God, in Her infinite wisdom, gave us a second human need, which is
Uncertainty.
We need variety. We need surprise.

Let me ask you a question: Do you like surprises?

If you answered “yes,” you’re kidding yourself!
You like the surprises you want. The ones you don’t want you call problems!
But you still need them to put some muscle in your life. You can’t grow muscle—or character—unless you have something to push back against.

NEED 3:
SIGNIFICANCE

The third is
Significance,
that basic human need that drove Adolf Merckle. We all need to feel important, special, unique, or needed. So how do some of us get significance? You can get it by earning billions of dollars or collecting academic degrees—distinguishing yourself with a master’s or a PhD. You can build a giant Twitter following. Or you can go on
The Bachelor
or become one of the next
Real Housewives of Orange County.
Some do it by putting tattoos and piercings all over themselves and in places we don’t want to know about. You can get significance by having more or bigger problems than anybody else. “
You think
your
husband’s a dirtbag? Take mine for a day!
” Of course, you can also get it by being more spiritual (or pretending to be). Unfortunately, one of the fastest ways to get significance—that costs no money and requires no education—is through violence. If someone puts a gun to your head, in that instant he becomes the most significant thing in your life, right?

Spending a lot of money can make you feel significant, and so can spending very little. We all know people who constantly brag about their bargains, or who feel special because they heat their homes with cow manure and sunlight. Some very wealthy people gain significance by hiding their wealth. Like the late Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart and for a time the richest man in America, who drove around Bentonville, Arkansas, in his old pickup, demonstrating he didn’t need a Bentley—but, of course, he did have his own private fleet of jets standing by.

Significance is also a moneymaker—that’s where my dear friend Steve Wynn has made his fortune. The man who made Las Vegas what it is today knows people will pay for anything they believe is “the best”—anything that makes them feel special, unique, or important; anything that makes them stand out from the crowd. He provides the most exclusive, luxurious experiences imaginable in his casinos and hotels—they are truly magnificent and unmatched in the world. He’s got a nightclub called XS (what else?) that is the hottest spot in Las Vegas. Even on a weeknight, it has a line out the door. Once you’re in, you have the privilege of purchasing an ordinary bottle of champagne for $700, or if you want to step up and show everyone
you’re a player, you can spend $10,000 for a special “Ono cocktail” of rare vintage cognac and fresh orange juice that comes with a white-gold necklace. Hey, it comes to your table with a sparkler, just so everybody knows you’re significant (and out of your mind).

NEED 4:
LOVE AND CONNECTION

The fourth basic need is
Love and Connection.
Love is the oxygen of life; it’s what we all want and need most. When we love completely, we feel alive, but when we lose love, the pain is so great that most people settle on connection, the crumbs of love. You can get that sense of connection or love through intimacy, or friendship, or prayer, or walking in nature. If nothing else works, you can get a dog.

These first four needs are what I call the needs of the personality. We all find ways to meet these: whether by working harder, coming up with a big problem, or creating stories to rationalize them. The last two are the needs of the spirit. These are more rare—not everyone meets these. When these needs are met, we truly feel fulfilled.

NEED 5:
GROWTH

Number five is
Growth.
If you’re not growing, you’re what? You’re dying. If a relationship is not growing, if a business is not growing, if
you’re
not growing, it doesn’t matter how much money you have in the bank, how many friends you have, how many people love you—you’re not going to experience real fulfillment. And the reason we grow, I believe, is so we have something of value to give.

NEED 6:
CONTRIBUTION

That’s because the sixth need is
Contribution.
Corny as it may sound,
the
secret to living is giving.
Life’s not about
me
; it’s about
we.
Think about it: What’s the first thing you do when you get good or exciting news? You call somebody you love and share it. Sharing enhances everything you experience.

Life is really about creating meaning. And meaning does not come from what you get, it comes from what you give. Ultimately, what you get will never make you happy long term. But who you become and what you contribute will.

Now, since this is a book about your money, think about how money can fulfill the six human needs. Can money give us certainty? You bet. Variety? Check. Obviously it can make us feel important or significant. But what about connection and love? In the immortal words of the Beatles, money can’t buy you love. But it can buy you that dog! And it can, unfortunately, give you a false sense of connection because it attracts relationships, although not always the most fulfilling kind. How about growth? Money can fuel growth in business and in learning. And the more money you have, the more you can contribute financially.

But here’s what I truly believe: if you value Significance above all else, money will always leave you empty unless it comes from a contribution you’ve made. And if you’re looking for significance from money, it’s a high price to pay. You’re looking for big numbers, but it’s unlikely you’ll find big fulfillment.

The ultimate significance in life comes not from something external but from something internal. It comes from a sense of esteem for ourselves, which is not something we can ever get from someone else. People can tell you you’re beautiful, smart, intelligent, the best, or they can tell you that you are the most horrible human being on earth—but what matters is what
you
think about yourself. Whether or not you believe that deep inside you are continuing to grow and push yourself, to do and give more than was comfortable or you even thought possible.

There is nothing more significant than growing and giving. So while money is an extraordinary vehicle to meet many of our six needs, it’s not the only one. When you are pursuing money, don’t forget why you are pursuing it. You’re trying to meet some emotional and psychological desires. Underneath those emotions are the needs that must be fulfilled for your life to be extraordinary.

When the astronauts went to walk on the moon, imagine the journey they went on. From being a small child dreaming of someday flying to outer space, to the day when Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong stood on the moon, looking back at that extraordinary view of planet Earth that we’ve all seen only in pictures. They were the first human beings to do it in the entire history of the species—how incredibly significant.

What happened next? Ticker-tape parades. Shaking the president’s hand. They were heroes. And then what? What do you do after you’ve walked on the moon, and you’re only 39 years old? If you’ve studied the history of the astronauts, or read their biographies, you’ll know that many of them became extremely depressed. Why? Because the only way they could find adventure was by traveling into space or all the way to the moon. They forgot how to find adventure in a simple smile.

I’m not going to preach to you anymore, but I wanted to take this short time to say that while it’s time to master your money, don’t wait to master yourself.
The fastest way to feel connection, a sense of how significant your life is, a deep sense of certainty and variety, and put yourself in a state where you can give to others, is to find a way each day to appreciate more and expect less.
The wealthiest person on earth is one who appreciates.

I interviewed Sir John Templeton for the first time when I was 33 years old. Remember, he was the multibillionaire who started with nothing and made all of his money when everyone else was afraid, during the worst times in history: WWII, Japan after the war, and in the late 1980s and early 1990s when massive inflation hit parts of South America. When others were fearful, he went out and invested. I asked him,
“What’s the secret to wealth?” And he said, “Tony, you know it, and you know it well. You teach it to everyone. It’s gratitude.”
When you’re grateful, there is no fear; when you’re grateful, there is no anger. Sir John was one of the happiest and most fulfilled human beings I have ever known. Even though he passed in 2008, all these years later his life continues to inspire others.

If you want to be rich, start rich. What can you be grateful for today? Who can you be grateful for today? Could you even be grateful for some of the problems and the pain that you’ve been through in your life? What if you took on the new belief that everything in life happens for a reason and a purpose, and it serves you? What if you believed in your heart of hearts that life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you? That every step along the way is helping strengthen you so that you can become more, enjoy more, and give more. If you’ll start from that place, money won’t be the source of your pleasure or your pain. Making money will just be a fun journey of mastery, and wealth a great vehicle to achieve what matters most in life.

But as long as money is such a part of our lives, let’s get right back on the money track. As heartfelt as this chapter has been, not all the people you’ll meet along the financial path will be operating from the benevolent place of Growth and Contribution! You’re going to be entering a world that is filled with people and organizations that too often will be looking to take advantage of your lack of experience and understanding. So I want to prepare you for what’s ahead.
Before we discuss where to put your money and what to look for, I have to show you what to look
out
for.

There’s a reason why most investors do not make money over time. I want to arm you with the knowledge that will both protect you and allow you to maximize the growth of your investments
so you can achieve true Financial Freedom faster than you can imagine.
The peace of mind you deserve will soon be yours. Turn the page . . .

SECTION 2

BECOME THE INSIDER: KNOW THE RULES BEFORE YOU GET IN THE GAME

CHAPTER 2.0

BREAK FREE: SHATTERING THE 9 FINANCIAL MYTHS

Remember the golden rule: he who has the gold makes the rules.

—UNKNOWN

You have to learn the rules of the game, and then you have to play better than anyone else.

—ALBERT EINSTEIN

I know that you want to jump right in and learn where to put your money to obtain financial freedom. And I want to dive in and show you! I absolutely light up when I see someone really “get it” and come to understand and embrace that the game is truly winnable. But it’s not enough to just save your money, get a great return, and reduce your risk. You have to know that there are a lot of people looking to take a piece of your wealth.
The system is riddled with loopholes—what I would call landmines—that can blow up your financial future.
So in this section, we’re going to go through 9 Myths—you might call them lies—that have been marketed to you over the years. And if you aren’t aware of them—if you don’t see them coming—they will systematically destroy your financial future.

This next section is where this book starts to pay off! In fact, if you have the average American salary of $50,000 per year, and currently save 10% of your income and invest that money over time, you’ll save $250,000 over your investment lifetime by just part of what you will learn in this section. That’s five years of your current lifestyle, at your current income, without having to work a single day! And that is statistically proven, not a number I’m pulling out of a hat. If you make only $30,000 per year and save just 5% of your
income each year, you’ll still save $150,000 over your investment lifetime. That’s a half decade’s worth of your current income without having to work
for it. If you’re in the $100,000-plus category, this section could put $500,000 to $1 million back in your pocket over your lifetime. Sounds like a massive promise, huh!? I will let the numbers do the talking in the pages ahead.