Creating Wealth Part 1: Aiming To Be Wealthy

The noise was deafening to say the least. At every corner of the room, people seem to be screaming.

Prices were being quoted loudly by the seconds. It was as if all hell has broken loose.

Some dealers were sitting at the edge of their seats – adrenaline on full rush. All eyes were fixed on the computer screens.

Suddenly, the Chief Dealer screamed, “Five dollars, Yours! … Yours! … Yours! … Yours! …  Yours! … Yours! … Yours! …  Yours! … Yours! … Yours!” 

In trading lingo, ’One dollar’ represents ‘US$1 million’ and ‘Yours’ means ‘Sold to you’.

In other words, US$50 million dollars had been sold right under my eyes. And it was not the only trade for the rest of the day.

In that instance, my financial consciousness was awakened.

I never realized there were so much money out there. So much money that could be within my reach – if only I believed and acted on it.

I was spending time in the dealing room of an offshore bank. It was no ordinary bank – financial traders called it a ‘market maker’.

It was a bank that could literally move the money market.

This was not the only dealing room I saw millions of dollars changing hands. I was privileged to watch similar action in almost any dealing room – what was termed as the ‘sacred sanctuary’ of an investment firm.

At that point in time, I was head of the regional sales and marketing operation for Dow Jones Telerate. I was involved in supplying financial information to most of the government agencies, organizations, and individuals that were involved in investments.

We like to believe that, without us, trading in the investment markets might have to slow down and in some market segments, might even have to stop.

As a result, I got to know many of the “Who’s Who” in the world of financial investment. Obviously, to them, I was a ‘What’s that?!’

Among these professionals, there was one who impressed the socks out of me – the Chief Dealer of a market maker.

I took great effort to cultivate his friendship. It was no easy task because, if you knew him, you would think he was born without a heart – or he had his heart gutted out from him by cold hard numbers.

This man was totally immersed in the money market – completely focused on maximizing his returns on investment. His life revolved around profits, profits, and more profits.

We became good friends – actually I was probably his only friend. We were so close he finally agreed to help me invest my meager savings and pittance of a salary.

When we shook hands to seal our partnership, I felt I had struck mother lode. My financial destiny would finally take off.

Our investments went on for quite a few months – but it was not getting anywhere close to what I expected.

I finally took the courage to question his investment strategy. I needed to know how he managed my hard-earned money.

This prominent investor said something to me I would never forget for the rest of my life. He said,

”Patrick if I know for sure how to make money, will I still be an employee in the bank?”

I could still hear his words reverberating through the chamber of my mind. They abruptly put to an end my financial innocence.

From that day onwards, I realized the best person to manage my money is… myself.

I started to think more deeply about money matters. I also made up my mind to pursue financial wisdom.

There were many imponderables that led me to my lifelong pursuit for wealth. Please let me share some of them with you.

 

 

 

What Is Wealth?

According to my friend, Robert Kiyosaki, ‘Wealth is the number of days you can survive forward if you stop working tomorrow.’

To me, wealth is more than just about staying alive. It’s about having a life.

Have you heard of the poor man with lots of money – the same guy who had money and nothing of lasting value?

The root word of ‘wealth‘is an archaic English word, ‘wela’ which means well-being and ‘th’ refers to ‘condition’.

Wealth in essence refers to the condition of well-being. It is a state of my body, soul and spirit.

Wealth also includes my physical, emotional, social and environmental well-being.

By the way, wealth also includes my honour, helpmate, home, HSR, happiness, health, handsprings in Gymnastic class, and other important values.

Being wealthy is to have the resources to live a meaningful, exciting and fulfilling life.

More importantly, it is having adequate resources so that my loved ones and the people I want to help can enjoy a great lifestyle.

Being rich is to have the money and material possession to achieve the same aspiration. It is just as important to be rich in action, service and contribution.

To be wealthy, I need more than riches.

To me, an asset is anything that grows my wealth. A liability is anything that decreases my wealth.

In other words, my property, car, savings, and other possessions may not be an asset and can be a liability.

Wealth is the tool to help me fulfill a worthwhile vision.

I believe if I don’t have money, I can still work towards becoming wealthy. However, if I don’t have a dream, I will be poor forever.

Henry David Thoreau phrased it aptly, ‘Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.’

Do I Want Money?

I realized none of us – including myself – want to have money. We don’t need money.

Surprised? If I give you all the money in the world but you cannot see, touch or use it, do you still want it?

My point is this, I don’t want money. I only want what money can do for me.

In other words, if I don’t know what I want to do with money, I can’t be truly rich. If I don’t know what I want to contribute to in my life, I will never be totally motivated to create lasting wealth.

I do not want to be like the person who spent the best years of his life to make money and then spent all his money to try and recover the lost years in his life.

Socrates once said, “If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.”

The person who craves for too little wealth is as pitiful as the person who is obsessed about too much. The question that begs to be answered is, ‘What do I want to do with wealth?’

Many people tragically do not believe they can be wealthy. They do not know why they want to be wealthy and what they want to do with their money.

When friends told me they knew what they could do with lots of money, I would look into their eyes.

Many did not believe in what they said. They had no commitment, no passion – they were uttering merely words.

Hence, I keep asking myself, “What is My Compelling Reason To Be Wealthy?”

Do I have a purpose that is so important – so passionate – that it will drive me out of bed every morning in pursuit of wealth?

If I know the ‘why’, I will find out the ‘how’. It is my purpose that will drive my performance.

Even when I have found a compelling purpose; every now and then, the fire within me will die down. I need to rekindle it.

With a burning desire, my dream of wealth cannot but must come true.

Will you join me to create wealth so as to help others live a better life and make the world a better home?