What do you need to do in order to be rich and successful? Is working hard on a daily basis enough? What else can we do to live a wealthy life?

Everyone wants to be wealthy, but not everyone know how to be. Some of us may be eager to work hard everyday, yet we still do not get our level of desired wealth. Financial Independence is about money, but have you ever considered what “true wealth” is. That is living a wealthy life.

There is a massive distinction between being rich and miserable and not so financially strong yet being happy.

True wealth is more than just growing your net worth. It is a fact that financial independence will always be all about money, but being able to live a wealthy life isn’t. The distinction is always critical.

We’ve seen rich people who are living miserably, and then some poor people who are still happy. Research shows that the relationship between money and happiness is small.

Following are the ten rules that will help you achieve true wealth — both personally and financially.

Wealth Building Rule 1: Get Deeply Motivated

Wealth building is not easy. So for this reason it becomes important to have a big reason why you want to create wealth.

Many people focus on things like cars, holidays, big houses etc as their motivators, but these things are external to you as a person. Once they have been attained, what is left to drive you forward.

To succeed in building wealth, you should be driven with your internal goals and dig deeper than just enjoy the external trappings of wealth. You want a cause that will bring a transformation to your life in the future and drive you deep enough to overcome all the obstacles that stand between you and financial freedom.

Some examples of internal goals may be things like:-

Freedom from financial pressures and the ability to do what ever you want when ever you want

Personal Growth, Jim Rohn said “ the major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become. ” Be the type of person that knows how to create great wealth easily. Then you really have something.

” Be the type of person that knows how to create great wealth easily. Then you really have something. Create you own charity, the more that you have the more that you are able to give. What better way to use wealth than to use it for the causes that you feel passionately about.

You will surely encounter a lot of problems that you must overcome along your journey to financial wealth and freedom. You will pay surely pay the price once you reach your goal.

To stay the course long enough to succeed, you must be motivated by a commitment that runs deeper than just the lifestyle that money can buy.

Wealth Building Rule 2: Live With 100% Integrity

Remember that you have to live with yourself at all times. Taking shortcuts or advantage of others may move you ahead in the short term, but your subconscious will refuse to let it go. Especially if you know that you did the wrong thing. This constant mind chatter will wear you down over time and may cause you to end up being in a worse place than before you started.

Don’t cause harm, encroach on other’s property, violate moral law, or damage the environment. Don’t lie, insult, or cheat in pursuit of financial wealth.

The rule is simple: if it doesn’t feel right then it probably isn’t. If you don’t feel comfortable telling your spouse, children, and parents what you are doing, then you probably shouldn’t do it.

Never do or say anything that wouldn’t make your Mother and Father proud.

Wealth Building Rule 3: Be Courageous

Unfortunately most people do not attain great wealth. so there is very little to be gain by following the pack. True wealth building starts when you decide to follow a different path and to do it with conviction.

It takes courage to be a self-starter and be self-responsible. It takes courage to walk new paths and develop new skills. It takes courage to stand out from the crowd. It takes courage to put out the extra effort when others don’t. In short, it takes courage to build wealth.

It may be true that the nail that stands up is the nail that gets hammered down, but it is equally true that the nail that never got driven is the nail that didn’t fulfill its purpose. Live with courage so you can live fully and experience true wealth.

Wealth Building Rule 4: Give More Value Than You Take

Adding value to the world by giving more than you receive makes everyone better off. That is how you build true wealth. You improve other’s lives by improving your own.

It makes sense, if you are in business and sell a product that creates massive value for the purchaser, they are going to want to buy more and to refer other people to you. In simple terms the more you can sell the more wealth you can create. On the other hand if you do not create more value for the purchaser then they will not buy again and will not refer others to you. This will reduce the wealth that you will accumulate.

The same applies in a job situation as well as most situation in life.

By giving more value than you receive, success becomes a measure of how much you have given. The wealthier you become, the more you are giving to others. It is a rewarding way to live.

Wealth Building Rule 5: Avoid Conspicuous Consumption

You always have choices, consumption today or building wealth for your future lifestyle. The reality is that wealth is an actual form of delay in gratification.

True wealth builders tend to live modestly and humbly by spending less than they can really afford, so that they can invest the difference for greater value in the future. They understand that happiness doesn’t result from material trappings of wealth, because that would only keep them from fulfilling the deeper cause that drives them to success.

These true wealth builders have found away to ensure that their greatest motivation is that of building wealth

Every day you make a choice between consumption today or wealth for tomorrow.

Wealth Building Rule 6: Be Disciplined

There it is that word “Discipline”, for many it has negative connotations. However for those that have mastered themselves and created positive habits they understand that “Discipline” actually sets them free.

When it comes to building great wealth, saving, reinvesting, investing, and growing your financial and business intelligence are all necessary habits of wealth building that should require your consistent and persistent effort.

In other words, wealth building does require discipline.

It is the simple daily habits that you adopt that will determine your level of success. Those small acts that are consistently done that keep adding up so that over time they compound into something magnificent.

The great news is that you can start right now. It does take discipline to overcome procrastination by starting today and persisting tomorrow. So here is your opportunity to take immediate action.

Wealth Building Rule 7: Build Supportive Environments

Many people strive to achieve financial independence, yet most fail to get there

The difference is very persistent, consistent, and focused action. Our life provides an endless stream of distractions to side track your life plans and plans for wealth (ever heard of TV). The only solution is to create a support system that will help keep you focused, keep you on track, and will literally draw you towards the wealth you desire.

Your family relationship, work environment, marital relationships, daily rituals, financial habits need to be pro-actively designed to pull you towards wealth by reinforcing and supporting your plans.

You should structure your life to support a wealthy outcome. Ensuring that wealth building becomes the path of least resistance.

Wealth Building Rule 8: Apply Leverage To Build Wealth

Leverage is the principle that will separate those who can successfully attain wealth from those who don’t. If you are not using leverage, then you’re maybe working harder than you should be, to earn less than you really deserve and that really isn’t going to make you wealthy at all.

Building your wealth requires you to work smarter, rather than working harder by applying the following principles of leverage:

Financial Leverage: Other people’s money so that you are not limited by your own resources. Australian banks are happy to lend you money if you can show them why it is worth while.

Time Leverage: Other people’s time so that you are not limited to 24 hours in a day. Business owners know the value of this, A restaurant owner simply can’t do everything necessary to have the restaurant operate effectively.

Systems and Technology Leverage: You can utilise other people’s systems and technology so that you can get more done with less effort. This is called “standing on the shoulders of Giants”.

Market Leverage: This is utilising other people’s magazines, newsletters, radio shows, and databases so that you can communicate to many people with no more effort than is required to communicate one-on-one.

Network Leverage: Other people may have resources and connections that you don’t have access to. By tapping into another’s network you can expand beyond your own.

Knowledge Leverage: It is not possible to know everything about any topic let alone every topic. Other people’s talents, expertise, and experience can be accessed so that you can utilise greater knowledge than you will ever possess.

Leverage allows you to build more wealth than you could ever achieve alone by utilising resources that extend beyond your own. It allows you to grow wealth without being restricted by your personal limitations.

As a Property Investor you get this. For only a small deposit or even no cash down you can own an asset worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. When it rises in value, that capital growth is yours.

Wealth Building Rule 9: Treat Your Wealth Like A Business (Because It Is)

Design a wealth plan based on your proven wealth principles that lead to success.

These principles may include leverage, competitive advantage, accurate record keeping, and accountability– just to name a few. Just like a business you should only focus on those things that you like and are good at, you can get other people to help you look after all of that stuff that you aren’t great at.

Run your cash like a business, because that is exactly what it is: your “personal financial management business”.

Wealth Building Rule 10: Steward Your Wealth

The one truism of money and wealth is that it is only a temporary thing. Just like you are only on this earth for a short period of time, your ability to control your wealth is limited, before it must be passed on for others to use.

The fact that you simply can’t take it with you means that any wealth that you create is a gift to be given to others.

The best part is that you get to decide what will happen to your wealth. Through the legacy of your wealth, you have a great opportunity to bless your family’s life and your own life now and into the future. You will also be able to support charities and organisations that you believe will be able to do good well into the future. What a wonderful thought.

The biggest mistake occurs when a person has failed to arrange themselves so that their wealth is not passed to the people and organisations that will benefit most from the wealth they have built.

In Summary…

There are ten key wealth building principles that lead to true wealth, not just monetary wealth. The objective is not just to become rich, but to build a balanced, fulfilling, healthy life.

These ten key principles will help keep you on track:

Build Wealth For A Deep Cause: Money alone is too shallow a goal to motivate you to overcome all the obstacles that stand between you and wealth. When you find a deeper goal like freedom, growth, creativity, or charity, then you will have the internal motivation to persist and succeed. Live with 100% Integrity: Integrity is non-negotiable because no amount of money can replace a good night’s sleep, a clear conscience, and a peaceful mind. Be Courageous: Wealth results from doing what others won’t so you can have what others never will. Give More Value Than You Take: When you give value than your financial success becomes a measure of how much you have given to the world. It is a satisfying way to live. Avoid Conspicuous Consumption: Nobody ever spent their way to financial freedom. Every day you make a choice between consumption today or wealth for tomorrow. Be Disciplined: Life will conspire to distract you from achieving your goal so that only the disciplined will stay the course with a consistent enough action to get results. Build Supportive Environments: The path of least resistance to wealth is paved by supportive environments that literally pull you toward the goal. Apply Leverage: Leverage is what separates those who achieve wealth from those who don’t because you can’t reach the goal by trading time for money and you can’t do it all yourself. You need leverage. Treat Your Wealth Like A Business: As a wealth builder you are in the personal financial management, business and must manage your net worth, just like an executive manages a successful business. Steward Your Wealth: Money is little more than a tool that comes with the responsibility to use it wisely. It is not something you possess, but something that passes through you and must be given back. Follow these ten success principles and you will be on the path to true wealth.

I would like to acknowledge Todd Tresidder from Financial Mentor for his powerful insights.