A common misnomer we often hear is, “Isn’t that risky!?!”  Starting a business, investing in the stock market, buying and selling real estate, etc.  What you have to understand is that risk is nothing more than “unknown certainty” or lack of information.  Why is one motivated to fly 20,000 feet in the air on an airplane to arrive at their destination hours earlier but not willing to trade stocks in order to retire faster?  We deal with risk each day, but we are very comfortable with the things we THINK we can control. We become certain about things we have lots of trusted information on.

I started becoming financially free by trading stocks.  When I try to tell others about it, they say, “MAN, that’s risky!!  How do you know when to buy and sell?  Those prices are random, you can’t predict that?”  I respond with, have you traded stocks before?  They quickly respond with “No! but I HEARD people lose lots of money.  When driving on the highway, how are you comfortable with navigating a 2000 lbs vehicle amongst hundreds of other people who are driving at 60+ speeds, but not comfortable with trading stocks?  Putting your life in danger seems a lot more risky than losing money.  The difference is, you know the rules of the game when driving! Learn the Stock Market, and then you will realize it’s really not that hard.  When something becomes a priority, you find the DESIRE, TIME, and RESOURCES to learn it.  Make the want to become wealthy a priority! Learn about it, and the Risk will go away!

Will Smith gives some insight on where “Go Hard” can get you:

Alright, so what is the true definition of being broke?  Here at MoneyIsJustAnIdea.com, we Mavens, define being broke as living from check to check no matter your income.  We were broke at one point and we know that the majority of the people reading this blog are broke now.  How did we denounce being broke?  Why are you broke?  The difference is we HATE BEING BROKE here at Moneyisjustanidea.com, while most people find comfort in being broke. Each day we dedicate time and effort to obtaining financial freedom.  Everyone wants to be rich, but few are willing to put in the work to become wealthy. Most people are comfortable with exchanging their time for a wage to fulfill someone else’s goals, but are they willing to work towards their own goals.  The only way you can think of generating more income is by getting a job or hitting the lottery. You are not alone in this thought process because millions of people are making the same choices everyday. So, if you are like us and hate being broke, now is the time for change. MoneyIsJustAnIdea.com is here to serve as a tool to leave the broke life in the past.

“I can’t afford it.” - stops my mind from working, allowing me to go along with my life

“How can I afford it?” - forces me to think differently!

I am not saying that I have purchased everything I laid my eyes on, but I use the question, “how can I afford it?” as a mental exercise. I found out that by saying, “I can’t afford it,” was mental laziness. My mind is stronger the more I exercise it, and the stronger my mind gets the more ideas I can come up with. Remember…money is just an idea, so be creative!

No, really!!  What would you do if you KNEW, without a shadow of a doubt, that you couldn’t fail? Would you start that company you have always been talking about? Would you open that restaurant you have been dreaming of? Seriously what is it you dream of doing? Well, I’m telling you that you will never know if you will succeed or not if you never even try! I know that may sound corny and cliché or from Thomas the Train engine (I think I can, I think I can, I know I can), but most people do not follow their dreams for two main reasons.  They do not have the motivation to change their current lifestyle and they are afraid of the risk.  Let me tell you from our own personal experiences, a strong belief in yourself along with a plan is failure proof!!  What is life if you come to the end of it, and look back full of regrets?  Let’s go against the grain, and not be average. I say put your ideas to paper, research to see who has done what you are trying to do, gather as much information as you can on that subject, connect with people who believe in your idea and are capable and willing to work alongside with you, and just execute your plan while adapting to changes…PERIOD! Life is what you make of it, so if you say, “life sucks”…it could be your fault, so how about making the efforts to change it.

When asked what’s your motivation, most people answer money, car, house, kids but no one tend to look inside to see what is internally motivating you. External motivations are okay, but studies show that intrinsic motivation outlast and is more powerful that extrinsic motivation.

Professor Steven Reiss realized this and did studies involving more than 6,000 people. He then proposed a theory that found 16 basic motivations that guide nearly all human behavior. They are:

Acceptance, the need for approval
Curiosity, the need to learn
Eating, the need for food
Family, the need to raise children
Honor, the need to be loyal to the traditional values of one’s clan/ethnic group
Idealism, the need for social justice
Independence, the need for individuality
Order, the need for organized, stable, predictable environments
Physical activity, the need for exercise
Power, the need for influence of will
Romance, the need for sex
Saving, the need to collect
Social contact, the need for friends (peer relationships)
Status, the need for social standing/importance
Tranquility, the need to be safe
Vengeance, the need to strike back/to win

*You may look at these motivations and think some are good motivations and others are bad but I believe all of them can either be good or bad. It depends on how you use it.

I took a look at this list and listed my top 5 in order and placed them in the comments section below. If you do this exercise honestly, you will see that you can use these motivations to help you accomplish your goals.

Please take the time and list your 5 top intrinsic motivations in the comments below as well!