20 rules of money

20 rules of money

Think about this. In your entire lifetime, how much money has gone through your hands? Let me explain to you what I mean by this. Maybe you made $73,000 last year as a 28-year-old. And you got your first check at the age of 14 for $100.00. Add everything up from that first check until today. You’ll come up with a number. It could be $493,000 or $1.9 million or $6.3 million, depending on who is reading this. The question is how much is left in your wallet? Truly. How much is in your wallet? Not your credit card limit, but how much savings do you have left? If you’re unhappy with the answer, the reason is very simple. It’s because you don’t know how to play the money game. It’s as simple as that. So in this video and article, I get into the 20 rules of money.

These are the rules of money that I’ve followed. They’re based on a lot of mistakes I’ve made because there was a point in my life where I made money and there was nothing left in my pocket. So what I’m telling you is based on my experiences.

Here are the Rules of Money

#1: It's a Game

Rule #1 is the most important one,  and it's the one you have to buy into immediately. It's very simple. You may want to fight it, but regardless of what you do, it's a rule. And the rule is that money is a game. The great thing about any game is that no matter what game you play, you eventually get good at it. If I've never played chess, and you've played it 100 times, you're probably going to beat me. If I've played Monopoly 1,000 times and you've played it three times, I'm probably going to beat you. So the great thing about the money game is that it can be learned.

#2: Don't Be a Hater of Money

Next, don't be a hater of money. If you hate money, you'll never get money. Why? Because money doesn't like haters. If you constantly say things like, "Money doesn't grow on trees" or "Rich people are this or that," money responds by saying, "You're right!"

It's almost like if you go on a date with an attractive girl, and you tell her you don't like attractive girls that don't know a lot about philosophy. You say that all they care about is their looks, doing makeup, and working out. The girl's response is, "Dude, I put on makeup and I work out every day to stay in shape. But I also like other things in my life. But you know what? You're right. You're not attracted to me and I don't like you." She then goes and finds another guy that says, "I like a girl that takes care of her body and skin, and puts on makeup. I like a girl that works out five days a week." She's attracted to that guy.

So keep that part in mind, and don't be a hater with money.

#3: It's a Doubles Game

Number three of the rules of money is that money is a doubles game. Listen, you could stop reading right now, as long as you understand this.

The entire game of money is about doubling your money. What do I mean by double your money? Let me explain it to you this way.

If you have $1,000 cash in your bank account, you are 10 doubles away from having a million dollars. You're five doubles away from $32,000, 13 doubles away from having $8.192 million, and 14 doubles away from $16 million dollars. How soon can you double your money?

That's it. It's a doubles game. Can you take that $1,000 and double it to $2,000 in the next year? Now that it's $2,000, you're nine steps away from a million dollars. If you already have $100,000 in your account, then you're three to four doubles away from a million dollars. Building wealth is a piece of cake when you understand the doubles game.

Risk Tolerance and Horizon

Now that you have the basic concept, the question comes down to two things, your risk tolerance and your horizon. Your risk tolerance depends on your age. If you're 65, your risk tolerance is lower than if you're 22. Horizon has to do with time. What is your time horizon? The time horizon could be, "I want to have a million dollars by ten years from now." Great. If you want to have a million dollars by 10 years from now, first start with what do you have right now. Then you play the doubles game. For instance, if you have $17,000, you'd ask how many doubles do you need to get to a million bucks. From there you can determine a time goal for each of the doubles to meet your goal within 10 years.

It's a simple game, as long as you know the amount you have, the amount you want, and your risk tolerance, and time horizon.

To get a free "Doubles Game" worksheet, fill out the form below. 

#4: Seduction

Let me explain to you about seduction. Money likes to be seduced. Money's attracted to seducers. Just like a woman doesn't like a desperate man, money doesn't like desperate people. Money's not attracted to desperate people that want it so bad because they want to show it off to everybody. No, no, you need to seduce money. When you do, all of a sudden money will say, "Ooohhhhh, I like this guy, I like this girl. Oh my gosh! I'm turned on by you."

Don't let money seduce you. You seduce money. Once you learn the seduction game with money, all of a sudden money starts coming from all over the place to you, because money's turned on by people that know exactly what they're doing. By the way, the more learn to seduce money, you'll get better at this game as well.

#5: Timing

Listen in here for my thoughts on the important role that timing plays when it comes to money rules.

#6: Boredom

Number six of the rules of money is boredom. Let me explain what boredom means. Money needs to be moved. Okay? Again, if a girl is bored with you, she leaves you, because you're too boring. The same is true for men. When people get bored, they leave. And money doesn't like to be bored.

What do I mean? If money stays in a checking account, the money goes to somebody that knows how to use it. Money doesn't like to stay somewhere where it's not working. So it goes to someone else that knows what to do with money. So you have to make sure that money's always moving for you, working for you, and doing something to create more money for you.

#7: Secret Account

The next of the rules of money is to have a secret account. You always have to have a secret account.

What's a secret account? It's an account no one else - including your spouse, parents, best friend, siblings - knows about.

A secret account is a crisis account and could be cash. It's an account that's sitting somewhere that no one else knows about. I know you may say, "Pat, you talked about boredom." But this is a completely different story. You have to have a crisis account that's not your emergency fund.

A secret account is what saved my business when we were going through a difficult time. The company's checking account went down to $13,000, and I had payroll, commissions and everything to pay out of it. The crisis account that I had is what saved us. No one knew about it. That money showed up, I put it back into the business, and we lasted through the tough times. So you always need to have a secret crisis account.

#8: Don't Fly First Class

Next, don't pay to fly first class until you have $10 million in the bank. I see so many people spending $2,000 on a flight when they can spend $400. Listen, I'm 6'4" and weigh 240 pounds, and do you know how many times I've paid first class? Zero. I don't pay first class. Other people pay for my first class, but I don't pay for first class. I've flown first class many times because I have miles, or people pay for my flight. But I don't pay for first class myself.

Why is that? It's because I did the math. Obviously, I can afford to do it, no problem. But here's how I did the math. If I pay $2,000 for a first class flight and I can get on the same flight for $500, that's $1500 more I'm paying for the flight. If I fly nine times a month, that's a $13,500 monthly difference. Do you know what I can do with $13,500? That's four employees or marketing or expansion. Over a year, it's $162,000. Why would I waste that money? That's an executive I could bring in, or two incredible employees. So I don't pay first class.

Once you have $10 million in the bank and you want to do it, great. At that point you may want to buy a private jet, but don't pay for first class until you get to that point.

#9: Comp Plan

The next of the rules of money has to do with your comp plan. Listen in here as I explain what I mean by comp plan.

#10: End of the World Mentality

The next of the rules of money is end of the world mentality. Listen, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey and others are all paid to sell crisis. Why? Because you have to be ready for a crisis. So a lot of times people are fearful, and think it's the end of the world. For example, in 2008 when the market crisis took place, everybody started pulling their money out. At the time, the Dow Jones was down to 6,000 something. It's at 21,000 points today. Imagine if you left the money in. How much compounding money was lost simply because people thought it was the end of the world?

You have to learn to manage the times when 90% of the world thinks it's the end of the world. You have to be ready for those times. So how do you do that?

Let me explain. I was part of the community that said it's always the end of the world. Then I realized how you become wealthy during those times. In the times when people say it's the end of the world, do you know who wins? The ones that have cash. That's why it's so important to have cash set aside. And I'm not talking boredom money. I'm talking about having cash said aside so that when it's the end of the world, you can buy stuff.

Crisis Makes Some People Wealthy

Every time crisis happens, a LOT of people become wealthy. Why? Because everything's on sale when there's a crisis. People sell exotics because they can no longer afford them. People sell artwork for 1/5 of the price and homes for 1/2 of the price. All kinds of things are for sale when there's an end of the world type of mentality.

So it's important to have a strategy for this time. Some say the markets will tank again in the next two to three years. I don't know if that will happen, but what I do know is that they'll tank in the next 20 years. And you have to be ready for it because there will be opportunities, if you're prepared.

#11: Study Your Politicians

Next, study your politicians, especially your president. Here's why. You have to know the philosophies of and what the politicians in your nation and local community are going to do. For example, if their philosophy is to do heavy-duty taxing, you need to adjust accordingly. If their philosophy is to cut down taxes, you need to adjust accordingly.

People ask me, "Pat, what should I do with Trump?" Start a business! Taxes are being cut. So go make your millions of dollars in the next four years, and if it's eight years, go make your money. Adjust. Everything's about adjustment. But you have to know the philosophies of your politicians and adjust accordingly.

#12: Study Smart Investors

Next, study smart investors. For instance, you should read everything Warren Buffett puts out. Every single thing. Read all his books, because as you do, he'll teach you his way of thinking, his mindset.

People ask, "Why did Warren Buffett spend $35 million to buy silver six years ago? And why does he stay away from technology?" The thing you have to respect about Warren Buffett is that he sticks to a philosophy long enough until it works. So study smart investors.

#13: Play Your Game

Number 13 of the 20 rules of money is to play your game. Don't compare or play someone else's game. Play your game.

Let me explain. Let's say that when you play the doubles game, you're at $8,000. And let's say your cousin is at $4,096,000. Or let's say your friend is at $128,000. Why are you comparing yourself to them? You need to play YOUR doubles game. They are four or more doubles ahead of you, so it's not the same game.

You can't say, "I'm going to play my game at the level with the other guys" because when you do that, you make reckless decisions and you may lose a double. You don't want to lose doubles.

It's important not to go backwards, and any time you focus on the people ahead of you, you may go backwards. So focus on your game, your strategies, and your time horizon. Focus on your risk tolerance, and play according to that game.

Your vision may not be to be a billionaire. Your vision may not be to do something very big. Perhaps your vision is not be a deca-millionaire, but instead to someday have $2 million. That's all good. Play to that game. And put a plan to it. But don't constantly compare yourself to other people.

And by the way, if you didn't fill out the form under point three to get your doubles game worksheet, put your name and email address in the form below. And when you fill out the doubles game worksheet, be sure to have your game, instead of someone else's in mind.

#14: Index

The next money rule is index. Listen in here to see what I mean by index.

#15: Befriend Money Makers

The next of the 20 rules of money is to befriend money makers that you trust. Here's why. If you're around other people that know how to make money, you're going to make money. If you're around people that don't make money and don't know how to make money, you won't make a lot of money. That's just how things work.

It's also important to know who you're going into business with. Sometimes things seem too sweet or sexy, but you don't know the person. It's important for me to know who I'm going to do business with. I hire very, very slowly and fire very fast. The moment I'm done with somebody, boom, they're gone. It's no problem for me to fire four people in a day. If things aren't in the right place, we need to move on.

Especially for higher up positions, I hire very slowly. I travel with the person so I get to know them. So whoever you're going to do business with, befriend them. Travel with them. If somebody's extremely wealthy, go to dinner with them. Get to know their spouse, and how they are around their kids. See their standard of living, behavior, and discipline and if you like what you see, determine to do business with them.

#16: Diversification is for Sissies

The next money rule is that diversification is for sissies. So if you're a sissy and your risk tolerance is very low, it's okay. It's okay to be a sissy. A lot of people are sissies. But if you truly want to create wealth, and you wonder why you don't have a single penny after working for 17 years, you have a problem.

What's the problem? Diversification is a great concept for financial advisers to sell to people that want to play things safe. If you're watching this and you're 73 years old, diversification may be good for you. Or if you're 62 years old and you've already hit your numbers, your risk tolerance is lower because your time horizon is lower. In that case, you're playing a different game.

I'm mainly talking to the people that are in the offensive mode of their lives. I'm talking to people that are trying to get their doubles to go faster. If you rely on diversification, it takes 20 to 40 years, and that's if everything goes the way it's supposed to. So don't rely on diversification to take you where you want to go.

#17: Leverage

The next of the rules of money is about leverage. Everything is leverage.

Let me explain what leverage means. When I say leverage, I'm not talking about going into debt. I'm talking about leverage, period. Here are some ways to use leverage in your business:

• Gain more support
• Expansion
• Market yourself more
• Get to the customer faster
• Increase the speed of growth of your business

You need to ask how you can leverage every aspect of your business because leverage is a growth game. And the more you study the concept of leverage, the better it is for your wealth.

#18: Positioning

Listen in here for why positioning is an important money rule.

#19: Strategic Partnerships

Number 19 of the 20 rules of money is to develop strategic partnerships. This is similar to befriending money makers but it's slightly different because it's intentional. For instance, in our company we have strategic partnerships where a lot of people make money. And the more that people make money, the more they'll continue to do business with you.

I have strategic partnerships with $400 billion companies, $200 billion companies, and $60 billion companies. I have strategic partnerships with a lot of different companies that benefits them. Strategic partnerships increases the value of making money because a lot more people make money when they go into business with you.

#20: Big Check Syndrome

Last but not least of the rules of money is big check syndrome. Oh my gosh, I've seen so many people screw this whole thing up.

Let me tell you what I mean by big check syndrome. Let's hypothetically say you sell real estate. And all of a sudden a client wants you to sell their $3 million home. You sell it and get a $100,000 commission check. You say to yourself, "Oh my gosh! I made $100,000!" And for two months you live as if you made $100,000 in a month.

What you don't realize is that you need to look at that $100,000 as $8300 a month income for a year. Don't look at it as $100,000. Look at it as $8300. I see so many people that see it as $100,000 and get arrogant and cocky. They don't realize it's just a big payday. And their double goes lower and lower and lower.

Here's a question for you. Would you rather take a half a million dollars up front, or take a guaranteed income stream of $100,000 over 20 years? Which one would you take? Most people would take the half a million dollars. Let me tell you why $100,000 is more. $100,000 adds up to two million bucks. And a half a million dollars is just a half a million dollars. The $100,000 gives you the opportunity to have a stronger backing to make bigger decisions to get bigger doubles.

Now you may say, "But Pat, a half a million dollars? That already moves me a long way in the doubles game." But that's irrelevant if you don't know how to play the money game. I want high income as well. I want income coming in that feeds my game so I can increase my net worth. Income is a very, very important game, so don't get too crazy about big check syndrome and all of a sudden fall for it and lose everything.

Your Turn to Play the Money Game

Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Making Mistakes

 

“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.” –Coach John Wooden

These two sentences become a mantra that sometimes pushes people beyond their fear.

In the book How to Be Like Coach Wooden by Pat Williams, Coach Wooden described why he was occasionally bothered if his players didn't make enough mistakes in practice:

“I wanted my players to be active, I wanted them doing things and initiating. I didn’t want them worrying about mistakes. Mistakes made while expanding boundaries are what I wanted. If we weren’t making mistakes, we weren’t far enough out on the edge. If we weren’t pushing against the walls of our capabilities, we weren’t practicing properly. The time to cut down on turnovers is during games, not during practice.”

In his book Wooden on Leadership with Steve Jamison, Coach described how this attitude applies to leadership and business:

“A basketball team that won’t risk mistakes will not outscore opponents. The same is true for any organization. Fouls, errors and mistakes are part of the competitive process in sports, business and elsewhere. Don’t live in fear of making a mistake.

“In sports, action often must be taken instantaneously to capitalize on an opportunity. In every organization, time is of the essence when opportunity knocks.

“Hesitancy, indecisiveness, vacillation and fear of failure are not characteristics I associate with good leadership.

“A leader must have Initiative—the courage to make decisions, to act, and the willingness and strength to risk failure and take a stand even when it goes against the opinion of others.”

 

“Mistakes come from doing, but so does success.” –Coach John Wooden

***

Coach Wooden believed that the person who is afraid to risk failure seldom has to face success, and that the only real failure is the failure to act when action is required.

In Wooden On Leadership, Coach described this basic principle:

“I told our team many times: ‘Be quick, but don’t hurry.’ By that, I meant to make a decision, take action, decide what you’re going to do and do it.

“Failure to act is often the biggest failure of all. Initiate quickly but not carelessly or in a hurried manner that makes a miscue more likely. I applied this same advice to my own actions. Do not be afraid of mistakes, even of failure.”

In his book Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations On and Off The Court with Steve Jamison, Coach described his approach when decisions didn’t work out:

“You can always look back and see where you might have done something differently, changed this or that. If you can learn something, fine, but never second-guess yourself. It’s wasted effort. If I put a substitution in during a game at UCLA and he immediately makes a mistake, was my decision wrong? Absolutely not.

“It just didn't work out. That was the decision I made based on past experience and without emotionalism. I made it with reason, but it just didn’t work out. Things don’t always work out. It’s also true in life. Does worrying about it, complaining about it, change it? Nope, it just wastes your time.”

Focus on preparation; take action and no self-recrimination when the results aren’t to your satisfaction. 

“If we allow the fear of failure to keep us from acting, we will never reach our full potential.” –Coach John Wooden

Question: "How much power does Satan possess?"

Question: "How much power does Satan possess?"

Answer: Satan was an angel created by God who turned against God’s authority (Isaiah 14:13) and became the head of a kingdom of evil spirits called demons, his “angels” (Matthew 25:41). His power both in the heavenly realm and on earth is great and should not be underestimated. However, while Satan and his forces are formidable enemies, Jesus Christ crushed Satan’s power, fulfilling the prophecy of Genesis 3:15. The cross of Christ won the victory (John 12:31). “The prince of this world now stands condemned” (John 16:11), and Jesus will one day destroy Satan’s power completely and purify creation (2 Peter 3:10).

Satan’s power in the heavenly realm / spirit world:
Satan’s power has repute in the spiritual realm (Jude 1:9), where he has limited access to the presence of God (Job 1:6). The book of Job provides insight into the relationship between God and Satan. In Job 1:6-12, Satan stands before God and reports that he has been “walking up and down” on the earth (v. 7). God asks Satan if he has considered godly Job, and Satan immediately accuses Job of insincerity—he only loves God for the blessings God gives. “Stretch out your hand,” Satan says, “and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face” (v. 11). God grants Satan permission to affect Job’s possessions and family, but not his person, and Satan leaves. In Job 2, Satan comes again into God's presence and is, this time, permitted to affect Job's personal health. (The rest of the book is from Job’s perspective, providing an example of how to deal with suffering.) 

This is an important passage because it shows Satan’s place in the spiritual realm. He is able to accuse God’s people in His very presence, and Jude 1:9 shows that even Michael the archangel needs the Lord’s help in overcoming him. However, Satan is obviously restrained from enacting his full fury; he is still a created being under God, and his power is limited.

Satan’s power on the earth:
Job 1 also reveals that Satan does enact evil and cause direct harm on the earth. The most well-known and important of his actions on earth occurred in the garden of Eden. Genesis 3 tells of Satan’s temptation of Eve, the “mother of all the living” (v. 20), and her subsequent first sin. It was this act, and that of Eve’s husband Adam, that brought sin into the world, and it is the reason all humankind must be redeemed from sin in order to be with God.

One day, Jesus met a woman who had been “crippled by a spirit for eighteen years” (Luke 13:11). Jesus attributes the infirmity to Satan, who had kept her “bound” (verse 16). Satan’s power was real, but it was easily overcome by our Lord: “He put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God” (v. 13). Jesus’ miracle was a clear demonstration of His authority over Satan.

Since his instigation of evil on earth, Satan has been named as the “prince,” “god,” or “ruler” of this world (John 14:30; cf. John 12:31; 16:11; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; Ephesians 2:2; Colossians 1:13). He is the enemy of God and truth (Matthew 13:24-30; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12), and he does everything he can to tempt individuals (Genesis 3; Luke 22:31; 1 Timothy 3:7) and larger groups of people (1 Thessalonians 3:5; Revelation 2:10). He “leads the whole world astray” (Revelation 12:9). Satan accomplishes this by various means, including appealing to man’s pride (1 Timothy 3:6; 1 Corinthians 4:6), interfering with the transmission of truth (Matthew 13:18-22, 38-39), and placing false believers within the church (1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; Revelation 2:9; 3:9). In John 8:44, Jesus says that Satan “is a liar and the father of it.”

God still grants Satan some authority in this world, which means that his power is not yet completely broken—except in one area: his power of death. Hebrews 2:14-15 says that Jesus came as a man to die in order to “destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil,” a power Satan had held “from the beginning” (John 8:44). The salvation Jesus provides has released us from Satan’s stranglehold. Death has lost its sting (1 Corinthians 15:55).

Satan’s power – the conclusion:
The Bible says that “the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19), and we must “be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Yet Christians have a great hope, for Jesus Christ (John 16:33) and our faith in Him (1 John 5:4) have overcome Satan’s evil. “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

11 Secrets to Becoming Rich, Successful, and Happy

11 Secrets to Becoming Rich, Successful, and Happy

Even though we all define "rich" differently--and we should--most of us factor at least some degree of wealth into our equations.

Yet we also want to feel successful. You don't have to make a lot of money to be a success.

And we definitely want to be happy.

Can you have all three? Sure. It isn't easy, but it is possible. Here's how:

1. Stop focusing on money.

While it sounds counterintuitive, maintaining a laser-like focus on how much you make distracts you from doing the things that truly contribute to building and growing wealth.

So shift your perspective. See money not as the primary goal but as a byproduct of doing the right things.

2. Start tracking how many people you help, if only in a small way.

The most successful people I know--both financially and in other ways--are shockingly helpful. They're incredibly good at understanding other people and helping them achieve their goals. They know their success is ultimately based on the success of the people around them.

So they work hard to make other people successful: their employees, their customers, their vendors and suppliers...because they know if they can do that then their own success will surely follow.

And they will have built a business--or a career--they can be truly proud of.

3. Stop thinking about money and start thinking about service.

When you only have a few customers and your goal is to make a lot of money, you need to find ways to squeeze every last dollar out of every transaction.

But when you find a way to serve a million people, many other benefits follow. Word of mouth is hugely magnified. The feedback you receive is exponentially greater--and so are your opportunities to improve your products and services. You get to hire more employees and benefit from their experience, their skills, and their overall awesomeness.

And in time, your business becomes something you never dreamed of--because your customers and your employees have taken you to places you couldn't even imagine.

Serve a million people--and serve them really well--and the money will follow.

4. See making money as a way to make more things.

Generally speaking, there are two types of people. One makes things because they want to make money; the more things they make, the more money they make. What they make doesn't really matter that much to them--they'll make anything as long as it pays.

The other wants to make money because it allows them to make more things. They want to improve their product. They want to extend their line. They want to write another book, record another song, produce another movie. They love what they make and they see making money as a way to do even more of what they love. They dream of building a company that makes the best things possible...and making money is the way to fuel that dream and build that company they love.

While it is certainly possible to find that one product that everyone wants and grow rich by selling that product...most successful businesses evolve and grow and, as they make money, reinvest that money in a relentless pursuit of excellence.

Like Walt Disney said, "We don't make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies."

5. Find your happiness in the success of others.

Great business teams win because their most talented members are willing to sacrifice to make others happy. Great teams are made up of employees who help each other, know their roles, set aside personal goals, and value team success over everything else.

Where does that attitude come from? You. Almost every truly successful entrepreneur feels a major chunk of his or her happiness comes from enjoying the success of employees and customers.

Do you?

6. Cultivate dignity and respect.

Providing employees with higher pay, better benefits, and greater opportunities is certainly important. But no level of pay and benefits can overcome damage to self-esteem and self-worth.

The most important thing truly successful entrepreneurs provide employees, customers, vendors--everyone they meet--is dignity.

And so should you, because when you do, everything else follows.

7. Do one thing better...

Pick one thing you're already better at than most people. Just. One. Thing. Become maniacally focused at doing that one thing. Work. Train. Learn. Practice. Evaluate. Refine. Be ruthlessly self-critical, not in a masochistic way but to ensure you continue to work to improve every aspect of that one thing.

Financially successful people do at least one thing better than just about everyone around them. (Of course it helps if you pick something to be great at that the world also values--and will pay for.)

Excellence is its own reward, but excellence also commands higher pay--and greater respect, greater feelings of self-worth, greater fulfillment, a greater sense of achievement...all of which make you rich in non-monetary terms.

Win-win.

8. Then list the best people at that one thing...

How did you choose them? How did you determine who was the best? How did you measure their success?

Use those criteria to track your own progress towards becoming the best at what you choose.

If you're a developer, it could be the number of people who use your software. If you're a leader, it could be the number of people you train and mentor to reach their goals. If you're an online retailer, it could be conversion rate or sales per transaction or on-time shipping....

Don't just admire successful people. Take a close look at what makes them successful. Then use those criteria to help create your own measures of success. And then...

9. Then do more of what you do best.

Another benefit of building a team is that it allows you to do a lot more of what you do best.

Say you're great at selling. Why perform admin tasks when your time is better spent with customers? Or maybe you're great at creating awesome processes. Why spend time creating social-media marketing campaigns when you could be streamlining your distribution channel?

Every person has something they do that makes the biggest difference on their personal bottom lines. The most successful people find ways to do a lot more of that...and a lot less of everything else.

10. Relentlessly track your progress.

We tend to become what we measure, so track your progress at least once a week against your key measures.

Maybe you'll measure how many people you help. Maybe you'll measure how many customers you serve. Maybe you'll check off the key steps on your journey to becoming the world's best at the thing you chose.

More likely, you'll measure a combination of these, and more.

11. Build routines that ensure your success.

Never forget that achieving a goal is based on creating routines. Say you want to write a 300-page book. That's your goal. Your system to achieve that goal could be to write four pages a day--that's your routine.

Thinking about your goal won't get you to a finished manuscript, but sticking faithfully to your routine will.

Or say you want to land 50 new customers. That's your goal; your routine is to contact a certain number of leads per day, check in with a certain number of current customers, network with a certain number of potential partners...your routine is what you will do, without fail, that will allow you to achieve your goal. Follow that routine and faithfully meet your deadlines and if your plan is great, you will land your new customers.

Wishing and hoping won't get you there. Sticking to your routine will, especially when you ruthlessly measure your progress, fix what doesn't work, and improve and repeat what does work. Success is almost guaranteed when you refine and revise and adapt and work hard every day to be better than you were yesterday.

And probably without even noticing, you'll also be rich--and more importantly, a lot happier, because you'll like how you got there.