Everyone knows if you want to impress the teacher, you sit in the front and if you care not to learn then the back you go. But this diagram from PHD Comicss shows what it means when you sit in other areas of the classroom as well. I thought it was pretty interesting.

A few readers have asked, “How much time and effort should I be putting in to build alternative streams of income?” My answer to that is, “You get out what you put in.” Meaning if you procrastinate and do not concentrate your efforts on finding out exactly what you need to do to build your stream of income, I promise you, it will take a long time to make little or no money. On the other hand, if you buckle down, focus, and diligently plan out your steps, you will have a road map for success. I understand that there are varying degrees of effort, and different perceptions of what a “long time” is. Only you know if you are truly giving your best effort. You will only be cheating your own financial health by not giving your best, and there will be no one to blame but yourself if it does not work.

Do not be deceived or put off by a lack of knowledge, because the “how to” part is easy. Learning how to incorporate a company in any state or the steps to writing a business plan can be accomplished by following simple step by step instructions (which can be found on our website). The hard part is being disciplined enough to follow your plan, learning from mistakes, dealing with rejection, gathering the right team, creating the right marketing campaign, and understanding business trends that may affect your product or service.

So now you know that setting up the framework for your business ideas is the easy part. You can get started right now after you finish reading this post simply by clicking on our “Ventures” page. Believe it our not the hard part I spoke about earlier can also be the fun part. You will learn more at a faster rate by building your business from the ground up.

Multiple Streams of Income

“Do what you have to do, so you can do what you want to do!”

The quote above was taken from the powerful movie The Great Debaters when James, the son, was being grilled by his father, played by Forrest Whitaker, about doing his work. It was an intense scene. To this day, I think about that quote when I am working hard trying to build self sustaining multiple streams of income. By choosing to take this path there has been sleepless nights and mental fatigue. But, I know my labor is not in vain! I know that the benefits of having multiple streams of income vastly out weight depending on one source of income. What are those benefits? I’m so glad you asked:

• You get more options in your life! You have more control and flexibility because every decision is not based on your job. For example, if you decide to take a vacation for 3 weeks, you are worried about what they might do.

• If you lose your job, your income only may decrease for a period, not totally disappear! If your only source of income was the job, then your income disappears if you are fired, injured for long period of time, or forced to move somewhere else. By having multiple streams of income and you lose your job, you just have more free time to either come up with another income stream or find another job you just love doing.

• You can be a bigger giver to causes. Imagine paying off your parent’s mortgage, writing a check to pay your child’s full tuition, helping your church build a new day care, or simply paying for a stranger’s groceries in line at the super market.

• You can enhance the life of generations after you. Now instead of your children inheriting debt and heartache after you pass on, they can inherit income generating assets that can sustain them and their children.

• You can become truly wealthy. Wealth is measured by a calendar not with a calculator! Meaning, how long can your sustain your current lifestyle if you stop working right now? Years, months, weeks, or days? Abundant wealth will out live you.

Life Lesson: Acquire as many income generating assets as possible.