Make More, Work Less, Retire Young

I don’t know if you’re a teenager about to enter the workforce with your first part-time job or someone in their late 40’s with no retirement savings who has been struggling all their life to make ends meet.  To be honest, I don’t really care because it doesn’t matter.  Whether you learn the lesson late in life or early, the lesson still needs to be learned.  What’s the lesson?  Not so fast there Tonto…

It’s been 20 years ago now, but in the early 90’s I was several years into owning an HVAC contracting business and I attended a marketing seminar.  I have no idea what was taught, nor do I remember the instructors name but I do remember that I was really impressed with his teaching style and delivery.  I also knew that he had a knowledge base far beyond the material being taught as he would recount examples and add elements that were not in the ‘official curriculum’.

During one of the final breaks I walked to the front and struck up a conversation.  I told him how much I appreciated his teaching style and asked his background and how it was that he came to be teaching our seminar as I’d not seen him at any of the other classes that were presented several times each year.  He told me a bit of his background, that enjoyed teaching but had to severely limit his schedule due to his other businesses and obligations.  Stupidly I asked how he limited his schedule and he answered very simply – I keep raising my fees.  He then said something I’ve never forgotten – “I know I’m not going to live forever and want to enjoy as much of my life as possible, leaving a comfortable nest egg for my wife and children.  I try to continually learn and improve my base of knowledge so that I become more and more valuable to my current and potential clients.  Every 6 months or so I evaluate everything I do to see if it fits into my goal structure – weed out the less profitable and more time consuming elements and thus maximizing my time spent vs. fulfillment / profitability.  Basically I live by this premise – Make More, Work Less, Retire Young.”

I’ve never forgotten that statement and although there have been times in my life where I allowed life and crappy circumstances to take over and manage me, I’ve continually tried to find ways to be proactive, analytical and make that happen in my own life.

As I travel around and talk to business owners, frustrated executives, people trying to start their first business or just the everyday blue collar worker trying to get out of the 9 to 5 drudgery with a home based opportunity there is one thing that limits their chance of success.  It’s a mindset that has been inbred into our society since the beginning of the industrial age.  The important lesson… the one that many have heard but few are able to really own and integrate into their lives.

Learn that lesson at http://MakeMoreWorkLessRetireYoung.com.

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