To me, most people have the wrong definition of what “wealth” really means…

A few months ago I had the opportunity to guest write a post on a newsletter by a friend of mine named Jordan. He collects letters from people around the world asking them to write to their future self. I decided to write mine in a different way than what I had seen (p.s. It is long, but worth the read!).

I started on this wealth building journey at 17 for one reason: to reach financial independence. Along the way, I have learned, studied & understood that wealth means more than just money. Wealth means more than just a fancy house. Wealth means more than just an expensive car. But first, to keep this newsletter free…

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My Wealth Letter…

Dear Future Wealthy Me,

You did it. You hit your goals. You achieved wealth. Not just financial wealth, but also wealth in your relationships, wealth in your health & wealth with your time. I am proud of you.

Okay, wait a minute…

Let’s back up a few decades… how can we get here?

To me, wealth is misunderstood by most people. Wealth, to most people, means having a lot of zeros in their bank account. Wealth, to most people, means having multiple vacation homes. Wealth, to most people, means making millions of dollars. While all that is awesome, I don’t believe that to be what true wealth really means.

To me, money isn’t even in most peoples top 4 list of importance.

To most people, family is more important than money.

To most people, health is more important than money.

To most people, freedom is more important than money.

To most people, relationships are more important than money.

If you have a good family, are in good health, have a strong support group of close friends & have the freedom to wake up whenever you want to, you are already wealthy. You hit the jackpot.

Cool, awesome, great… that sounds good. But what about that money part?

I can say this, NOT having money is definitely not a good thing. It causes stress, it causes panic, it causes the inability to take opportunities. Most people can agree that NOT having money is not ideal. But time & time again, we see that having money also does NOT automatically mean your life is good either. With all that being said, how does one become wealthy with money?

I have spent 1000s of hours reading books, articles, listening to podcasts & interviews of those who are where most people want to be (they are millionaires). I have found a lot of commonalities between all the messages. A few differences. But 4 consistent lessons keep getting brought up by my research.

So… What were those 4 lessons?

1. Start today

2. Invest in yourself

3. Work smart & hard on ONE thing

4. Think long term

The first message I see a ton of wealthy people preach, which is “start now”. We all get one life. You get one life. I get one life. The greatest time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. If you fail, get back up and try again. While life is long, life is also short. Start now. Quit delaying & putting if off until next week. Next week will never come. I challenge you to start today. Open that investment account. Create that LLC. Send that first email. Start now.

The second message I see consistent in my research is to invest in yourself. While investing in Tesla in 2012 generated massive returns, there is NO greater return on investment than investing in yourself. How can you invest in yourself? Read books. Watch YouTube videos. Buy courses. Invest in your knowledge. Invest in your skillset. Invest in skills that demand a higher pay. Why? The more money you can make, the more money you have to invest into assets (which will further your wealth even more).

The third message I see mentioned a ton when listening to wealthy people is to work smart and focus on one thing. If hard work was a determinant of wealth, construction workers would be the highest paid people. Sadly, hard work is not a determinant of wealth. Hard work coupled with smart work is one determinant of wealth. Once you educate yourself on the skills, execute. If education is a car, execution is the fuel. Find the thing that works for you, work hard & work smart. Do it consistently over & over again. In due time, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.

The fourth and final message is near & dear to my heart. I started the brand “Decade Investor” to remind people to think long term in a short term world. One of my favorite quotes is by Bill Gates who said “People often overestimate what they can do in one year, but underestimate what they can do in ten years”. It is very hard to lose when you think long term. It is very difficult to lose when you are planning to do something for 10+ years, while your competition is trying to get rich by tomorrow. Majority of people think short term. Majority of people aren’t wealthy.

You have to do things that feel abnormal. You have to zig while everyone else is zagging. Building wealth is hard… so is living paycheck to paycheck. Learning a new skill is hard… so is being in the same spot you were a decade ago. Everything in life is hard. Choose your hard.

Go back to the first line of this letter. If you follow the steps laid out in my wealth letter, that can be future you. You can accomplish all your goals. You can reach the wealth you want… in all areas of your life.

I’ll leave you with this. While we are on this amazing journey of building wealth, remember that having a ton of zeros in your bank account is great, but true wealth isn’t the money. It is not the fancy cars. It is not the multiple houses. It is the freedom money provides, the relationships we have, our health & the family we get to spend time with.

See, most people are actually wealthy already, they just don’t realize it.

My Buys This Week:

This week I did my normal buys like always. Just like stated above, I keep my strategy simple, yet effective. DCA, buy weekly, don’t overthink, don’t try & time the market. Just buy.

ETFs: $250 in VOO + $100 in SCHD (from options income) +

Individual Stocks:

Tweet of the Week:

I asked my followers what their car payments looked like each month. Quite a majority spend $0 on their car!

Thank you so much for reading & I will see you next week! Until then, keep buying assets & stacking those dividends. 🙂 

- Decade Investor