In recent blogs I’ve been talking a lot about investing in your money, but do you invest in your relationships? We can spend a lot of time dreaming about increasing our net worth but do we spend too much time focussing on the wrong set of assets?
In today’s blog we are going to look at:
- It’s not resources but resourcefulness that makes the difference
- What has the biggest influence on your net worth?
- The essential tool for success.
It’s not resources but resourcefulness that makes the difference
Tony Robbins is a personal and business coach who has helped many people grow and achieve many amazing things. A quote of his that I love is “It’s not resources but resourcefulness that ultimately makes the difference.”
But how does this apply to life? We will start with looking at what is a resource, and what resourcefulness means.
Looking at the definitions, a resource is something used to obtain an outcome. whereas resourcefulness is the ability to find a way to overcome difficulties.
A lack of resources is a significant reason for failure. Let’s take a look and see how many of the following we are familiar with.
- Lack of money
- Lack of time
- Lack of skill
- Lack of training
- Lack of technology
- Lack of people.
But how can resourcefulness overcome this lack of resources?
- Lack of money. Be resourceful – create a passive income. Find an equity partner, these are just a couple of examples of how you can create opportunities to find a way past the lack of resource (money) if you truly believe in the opportunity.
- Lack of time. Be resourceful – prioritise your day, outsource some tasks, collaborate with others.
- Lack of skill. Be resourceful – learn the skill or outsource to someone who does.
- Lack of training. Be resourceful – find online courses, find a mentor, find someone who already has the training you lack.
If we look at the solutions to resourcefulness, we can see that identifying others that can help is a common response.
My Grandpa used to always say to me, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. He was right. Knowing who to turn to when you need help or advice or someone who can do a job better than you is being resourceful.
The key then becomes knowing who to ask. This is when having a group of people you can turn to is, quite literally, priceless.
What has the biggest influence on your net worth?
Your social capital, or ability to build a strong network of relationships, is said by many business legends to be the most important asset in your portfolio, enabling you to reach a higher level of success than you would on your own.
Hence the saying… your network is your net worth.
If you surround yourself with the likes of mentors, advisors, teachers and other knowledgeable people who know that they are doing you will grow. They will all be sharing their ideas and helping you to make the best and wisest decisions going forward. The more you invest in building your network the more you will see opportunities come your way to build your net worth. These may be in the form of ideas, collaboration, offers, recognition, referrals, career opportunities, friendships, and more. This will increase your growth in many areas, exposing you to new people, new ideas and gaining you new perspectives.
I’m no genius, but I’m smart enough to know there’s no way in heck I can do everything in life by myself. I literally do not have the time to do the things I want to do. I have no doubt if I had a great teacher, and if I took the time, I can learn to do most things. Sure, I could learn how to fix my car, I could learn how to find the best finance deals myself, I could learn how to subdivide a block, I could learn architecture, I could learn how to build my house…if I had the time.
What I do have in my network is a great mechanic, a great finance broker, a great architect, a great builder…so I can focus on what I do best, and have faith and confidence knowing that when I need those things done, I know exactly where to go.
If you are resourceful, and have a great network, then your net worth will reflect this.
Let’s see how that worked for someone we recently helped.
Steve has his own business in Perth as a floor sander. He’s brilliant at what he does, and has work coming out his ears. Last year Steve successfully won a quote to sand a floor for a young couple who had recently purchased their first home. Steve did a great job, applying his specialist trade to his usual high standard.
The young couple were rapt. Their new home was their pride and joy, and an exciting project for them…a dream come true. When Steve finished the job, they walked around inspecting his work, and they were extremely happy with the job he had done. They couldn’t thank Steve enough, and shared their story about their journey from renting to now owning their own home. Steve mentioned that it was a dream of his, but unfortunately, he had recently gone through a separation, and was left with a debt and credit issue, that he had worked out would take him about 3 years to get on top of, if he worked 6 days a week. In fact, Steve’s credit report was in such a bad state he could not even get a mobile phone contract.
That’s when the young couple added a bit of detail, how they too thought they were about 5 years away from home ownership and were in fact considering bankruptcy. Instead, they were recommended a company called Fix Bad Credit. They told the story of how we had helped them eliminate their debt, fix their credit report, and get approved for finance. They gladly gave Steve our contact details and he duly gave us a call.
Recently we enjoyed making the phone call to Steve to let him know that we had negotiated with his creditors for his $35,370 debt to be settled for a $4,500 payment and removed the defaults from his credit report. Steve has since been approved for finance.
If he hadn’t connected with this young couple, and learnt from their story, Steve might still be waiting for his dream of home ownership to come true.
Personally, as a property investor – having a great network has been the make or break of many of my projects. It’s helped me invest by finding properties through my network below market value, putting me ahead of the market. It really is like getting a head start.
We have learnt in previous blogs that time, cost, and risk are very important. My network includes people that I can trust to get the job done. A great mortgage broker, legal team, and tradespeople eliminates the stress. Knowing I have a team that I can trust to perform gives me the confidence to take risks and be successful. It also saves me time, I don’t have to compare 3 quotes and check the references and it eliminates the risk of getting someone who I don’t know and have to just cross my fingers hoping they do a good job.
Your network is essential for success. It is your net worth.
Other recent blogs you might be interested in:
- The biggest risk in life is…
- The best, and worse, investment you can make
- Interested in making money while you sleep?
What have you done this week to increase your network?
Note: The information in this article is general in nature as it has been prepared without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs.
