Whilst everyone seems hell bent on becoming "wealthy" at all costs, the desire to become prosperous has seemed to fall to the background.
I see building ones wealth as very one dimensional. It can potentially become a very selfish path if you are not careful.
You see, when you are aiming towards wealth creation, the danger is that you end up becoming single focused. Just like a horse with blinkers on. Your whole effort and focus can tend to be set on what you think will make you and you alone happy. I believe we all need to have a bigger way of thinking which will then lead to a greater impact with what we are doing.
That is why I want to show you a different side to wealth creation within this article.
Being prosperous is something that I have always aimed at, not becoming rich! Now I know that there are probably a few people out there reading this article now thinking that I am splitting hairs, but let me explain.
Wealth is all about personal accomplishment from a financial perspective, whereas prosperity is about a holistic approach that also encompasses other people around you as well. It is this perspective that I want to touch on in this article.
We all need to have bigger goals than just for ourselves. Whilst I am a big believer in having the nice cars, the nice house and going on the nice holidays, I am also very big on impacting everyone I come into contact with.
As this is a magazine that is aimed at educating people on wealth creation, I want to come from that angle.
I believe that by creating wealth and reaching a level of prosperity, we are able to make a greater impact in the world that we live, as long as our thinking is BIG. What I mean by that is that we all need to ensure that our thinking has stretchmarks.
Just ask yourself one question: What would happen if you reached the financial goals that you have set for yourself?
Would you be happy?
What would you do next?
You see, whilst many people will fall short of their desired outcomes, there is still a lot that they can do to make a huge impact on not only their lives but also others around them.
The biggest principal that I have subscribed over the last 10 years since I started my business was the principal of generosity.
Whilst I know that there may be a few people that will disagree with this next statement, the facts are that there is really only so much money that you can make until you have enough. That being the case don't stop there. There are so many people out in the world today that will never have the opportunities that you and I have. So why not make an impact in brendtheir lives as well?
If you look at some of the worlds richest people, you will see that it is a standard principal that they will give away a percentage of their income to charities or to areas that are in need.
This principal is one that I have always had since I was very young. This is also a principal that I encourage my children to adopt.
The minute we understand that prosperity is about impacting rather than a impressing those around us, you will then start to grow not only from a financial perspective, but also from a human perspective.
We all need to ensure that our success counts for something. We need to make an imprint on the future generations to ensure that they don't end up a self focused generation. So how will they learn? Easy, if they see that our mission in life was to enjoy our success but share it around as well, they will learn by example.
Action vs. Attitude
Lastly, I want to touch on action vs. attitude.
Many of us (me included) go about trying to create our wealth the best way we know how. Whilst we are not doing anything wrong and our actions are proving to be a winning formula, you need to also address our attitude towards that process at the same time.
I see aiming for a higher level of wealth as an action. I see aiming at prosperity as an attitude. There is a small difference but it still is a difference.
There is nothing wrong with aiming for a greater level of wealth for our lives. In fact I would be one of the biggest advocates for this. What I also want you to ponder is make sure you also affect others around you along the way.
Don't wait until you are "rich" before you start sharing your wealth. As my father used to say "if you can't be generous with $10 with your friends, how do you think you will be able to all of a sudden, become generous with $1 million.
Aim for success, set your sights on creating your wealth, but keep your thinking bigger than just what you want out of your success.
Justin Herald started a company in 1995 with only $50 in his pocket. 6 years later the company was turning over $25 million.
Having no experience in business, Justin realised that it was up to himself to make his success stick.
Successfully retired at 31, Justin is now one of Australia's most sought after motivational and business speakers and the Author of 3 international best selling books with his fourth due out in August 2005.
In 2005, Justin was awarded the "international Entrepreneur of the Year" award.