In this post, we shall be looking at how you can become financially independent for life if that is your desire; and I believe it’s because it is my personal desire too. However, desires always remain so – as desire – just 
like dreams remain so unless an individual takes a decisive and purposeful step towards bringing such desire(s) into reality.
like dreams remain so unless an individual takes a decisive and purposeful step towards bringing such desire(s) into reality.
Society is divided into different groups when we base our classification using wealth accumulation. But for the sake of this article, I will only divide it into two: the rich and the poor. It’s true both find expression relatively, but I want us to concentrate on what any individual can do to remain financially independent – not living a parasitic life as it were. Please note that I do not in any way define wealth in the sense of money for the bills (money) we carry with us every where we go is not what makes us rich. The chief factor identified by Karl Marx for instance which is responsible for keeping many where they are is the “Poverty of Ideas”. When one lacks ideas, he remains stagnated in life. This is similar to the saying that “once we stop learning we start dying…”. Many perish for lack of knowledge; and the weakness of conceiving viable ideas.
Unlock that goldmine you never taught you had
Ideas never come easy. But sometimes certain conditions help us conceive brilliant ideas. You may regard such conditions as necessary conditions that enables the creation of a desired effect if you are Marxist – for the Marxian Theory posits that it is matter that causes a change in the consciousness of thinking beings like us which spurs us to desire a change in our mode of existence as it were, contrary to the Hegelian Theory. Hence when faced with the limitations that arises from living in the open – the scourge of the sun et al – humans began thinking of building houses just like brutes seek out burrows etc. this capacity to adapt our environment to our taste to some extent is the greatest power many of us have not thought of exploring.
Coming back to our discussion, let’s take this example. Paul graduated from one of the most prestigious schools in his home country. However, with all effort he has already put into job search nothing was forth coming with respect to all the applications he has tendered alongside his wonderful resume as it were. One day walking along a busy street, shoulder drooping, he bumped into a well dressed man. He (Paul) was just floating along absent minded like a zombie as it were. The man proceeded to ask Paul what the matter was. Paul began telling the gentle man his life story. After listening to his touchy story, the young man told him this, “I won’t give you fish. Let me teach you how and where to fish”. Paul itched to know more; and how his situation could turn for the better. Our fine gentle man now posed the question: “what is it people need most where you are and the gap hasn’t been filled 100%?” Paul could not give a ready answer. Handing Paul a business card, the gentle man patted Paul on the shoulders and whispered “open your eyes to the needs of your environment, for therein lies the opportunities you have overlooked for a long time.” Today Paul runs a mini carwash centre. In spite of the thinking that “it’s not lucrative” or that “so many are into the business,” Paul has carved a niche for himself in the market and is earning good income. Of course, he also runs a small Salon and a call centre.
From the story, you can see that Paul’s consciousness was stimulated by his encounter with another individual (partly a material being). Though space constrained my going into details in the story, it’s apt to state here that the young man told Paul how meeting the needs of his environment could generate wealth for him. Paul also learnt the importance of getting informed especially relating to areas of his interest – this is where reading and research comes into play for you get to know what successful people do to create the after effects in their lives.
Many work for others and still hardly find their take home pay enough in the face of an ever increasing household demand. The answer is creating more streams of income. Additional stream of income creation is an aspect of wealth creation so many people are yet to explore. Opportunities abound all around us, but they are limited to how far we can see or choose to see. Take for instance, having graduated from university, and not gotten an appointment yet, I began busying myself with blogging – even though I have not began earning – teaching myself how to build e-estates (which we shall look at soon, but in another post), and retail of call cards. I began investing on the resources I needed for self tutoring because part of my plan is to go big into online business as it were. The point I just made is that I am purposely working towards putting in place different sources of income. If you are a salaried person, it’s unwise to be contempt with that. Hence, begin taking steps towards diversification. You have a gold mine (an idea) just waiting to be explored and translated into an income source.
What the rich and super-rich do differently
The clear cut difference between the rich and the poor is that the rich – some of who were once poor – identified their limitations and took deliberate steps to change the status quo. Go talk to any rich person and you will see that they have one thing in common. They sought for ways to conquer stagnation and undertook certain rituals (not occultism as some do though this might sound ridiculous for one not from where I come from) to attain their desired goal(s). By rituals, I mean rules of engagement with their environment
Going through a book, I once came across, and which I would soon share with you for free – it’s titled “Inside the Millionaire Mindset” – I came across excepts of “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George S. Clason. I came to a conclusion that if what rich people do today was done in time past, and they still got same results, then whatever it is they do works, no matter how long it takes to be a reality i.e. the result. Hence, to replicate such successes we need to go into the minds of our rich friends, just like the characters in the book, The Richest Man in Babylon
The wisdom of the poor turned rich
In this section, we are going to look at the wisdom keys every rich man operates by. If you read my other article, “Scaling the fence of limitation” you must have come across where I wrote about the Iron Law in nature – the law of cause and effects. In that sense, let us proceed to see the realities that set in motion the effects we apprehend in the lives of the reach as wealth or success. The Richest Man in Babylon
Making your gold multiply
Because the rich understand that real wealth does not come in a deluge but in trickles which when pooled together becomes substantial, they always invest in ventures that are profitable. However profitable is not limited to business alone. One’s savings, for those who have income, can serve as an investment. However, the magic word emphasised by the wise is interest. The richest men in Babylon
Increase your ability to earn
Your capacity or ability to earn is something you must build. Rich men didn’t get to where they are overnight. They built themselves in the direction they intended moving towards, becoming financially independent. They didn’t just sit there making wishful thinking nor day dreaming. They took purposeful steps.
From the Rich Man’s manual (in the context of this article), we grasp the importance of education, experience and self confidence. Readers are leaders; thus those who are business moguls gained the requisite knowledge on how to become successful (or affluent) by devouring information that enrich their minds, causing them to conceive some times revolutionary ideas that changed their lives and the society in some cases. You can also learn from others experience and the art of building confidence in you. Hence, remove every fear for books. Devour all you can, read good books. Carry out research, get informed as knowledge it is that keeps some resilient in the face of challenges that has put many under as it were.
Never underestimate what the information you might come across in one seemingly “insignificant” book might do to your financial power or income. Such info might be to turn a hobby into extra income. “The more wisdom you get, the more you may earn”. In a dynamic world we live in it is only innovation that keeps top businesses on top and innovation only comes from research – educating yourself. Clarson put it this way:
“The more of wisdom we know, the more we may earn. The man who seeks to learn more of his craft shall be richly rewarded. Cultivate thy own powers, study and become wiser, become more skillful, and act as to respect thyself.”
Having stated all I have above I will now lead you on by giving you some ideas you may want to explore with respect to increasing your stream of income – increasing your ability to earn, multiplying your monies.
Considerations for choosing an extra income source
Adding more streams of income requires you taking decisions that will be worth it in the end. Individuals who do not have a job already may not find it difficult unlike those already in employment. However, the point am going to make applies to both the employed who seek extra income and the unemployed who are looking for their big break in life.
In choosing an extra source of income, you must make certain considerations. a great income source as an addition to the one you already have should include the following: (1.) what you opt to do must be one you find enjoyable. The last thing you need in any career is depression. It’s a fact that performance level drops when people are depressed. Do not undertake a venture simply because others are doing it or for the sake of the money alone. It should be something you have a passion for. It could be a hobby. Just go for whatever it is that wont bore you to death. (2.) Your choice of income source must not be expensive. Its true that businesses require a lot of capital particularly at start-up levels. Of course you want money. Hence, don’t expend all your resources on just one venture. If you can let such investment (i.e. capital required) be one you can part with at the moment i.e. the amount involved. (3.) Your choice of income source should also be one that can function even in your absence. Take Coca Cola’s founder for instance, he’s no more but the business is. Thus let the business you intend to start be one that can run even when you are not there. This point is particularly important for those already working. Of course you won’t be morally justified telling your Boss at the office you went to attend to your poultry at the expense of the job you are paid to do. Hence if you must run poultry then you should be thinking about hiring an assistant to do the job while you’re at the office. (4.) Never try to dictate to the market, as it should be the other way round. This is why you have to carry out a feasibility study first to identify a gap to be filled. Trying to dictate to the market may not be successful at all times; hence, it is dangerous especially if you are starting small.
Further on point number four above, I will give you an example. Take for instance in my home country businesses like those that render car tracking services are beginning to go under because it appears they tried to dictate to a market that saw no need in securing their cars as it were via tracking them. This might be attributed to the fact that the market was not ripe yet for such services or that the services are on the high side. Probably it would have been easier if society has seen the provision of such services as a solution to car theft and control of driver recklessness for instance. Let us now proceed to the next section where I will be giving you some examples of income generators you can use to boost your financial base. They may appear small, but remember the biggest clothing lines/labels began with a humble background and then grew to what we know them to be today.
Income Generators
Let us now see some income generators you can explore to build your financial base up in order to secure your future. Remember I said reading was important above? Maybe what you will see in this part of the article might spark an idea in you. It could be how to do same thing different from how it’s been done hitherto. Now sit tight lets cruise through the final laps.
Sell a product
In life there exists the art of selling. This could be a consumable product like food, books or your skill. The moment you sit in front of a panel of interviewers what you are doing is selling your skill for a fee – your take home pay isn’t it? Having said that we now understand that selling is not restricted to one product alone. Also you could explore selling a service too. Rendering a service involves utilising skills as it were.
Hence you can explore selling online products like books, clothing, etc for instance. This can be achieved by partnering with affiliates even when you don’t own the products. Thus you earn commissions for every deal sealed. You can even go ahead to build your E-Store where you offer you products and put a means of delivering it to your clients when they purchase. This will require you have a web site designed for you for that purpose. This means you not only sell to people around you but that you also explore the power of technology to reach others miles away from you as it were. You can also decide to set up a dry cleaning place. Remember whatever you’re your options are let quality be your watch word pls. quality and integrity are Siamese twins – the factors that determine how far your business will go. Hence don’t go scamming people or offering bad products or services.
Real Estate Investment
Though this might sound big to some; however real estate business is a very rewarding one if you can explore it. If you can afford a start of capital I suggest you try out investing in real estate. Lands and housing are both investments whose values are always appreciating. Look around you today. The same built up places were once ignored and uninhabited until someone saw a goldmine in them. That goldmine once existent as an idea in the mind today is manifested in reality as concrete money generator.
The rich men of Babylon also knew how important real estate business is – even though Carson
Paid employment
Whether you are employed or not, a paid job can be an addition to your income source. You should consider taking up part-time employment where you can contribute your skill for extra pay. However such job should be one that gives you a flexible schedule, one you can do in your spare time which does not clash with you main job if you are already working full time.
An example of a part-time job you can engage yourself with can be freelance article writing for newspaper and magazine columns. Television and radio programming are not out of the question either. Such part-time engagements may be on weekends. Some may say “shouldn’t I be resting on a weekend?” my response to that is a question too: “do you think the big guys out there made it via recognising rest or weekend partying as priorities?”. Please note that I am not in anyway insinuating that you should not mind your health – because it is wealth. All I am saying is that weekends could be planned in such a way as to give you time to earn extra – time is money they say. Isn’t event planning a great example of a part-time job for the weekend?
Website Design
With the growing need by businesses and individuals for online platforms website design is fast becoming a lucrative business. There are millions of web pages online today and more being published by the minutes. You too can earn big if you know what you are doing.
Website design is something I picked interest in not too long ago. I always loved well built pages. I couldn’t utilise the partial scholarships I got from New Horizons and NIIT – some of the finest in IT training. But this did not prevent me from trying my hands on web design. In fact it is part of the services I intend floating soon. I began by getting some apps like Macromedia Dreamweaver and Flash Builders etc., which I used to teach myself. I am happy that I can at least design a page that can fetch me something at the time of writing this article. It’s not easy though having to do it yourself as website designing could be frustrating when you get stuck somewhere with no teacher around – left all by yourself to figure it out.
Because the best in the business earn big time designing websites for organisations and individuals you should give it a try. Go get trained, build up your skill. You can specialise in certain aspects but laying out html elements should be a must. Of course websites like cnn.com are designed and managed by a group of individuals with different skills – java programming, media management, graphic artists etc. indeed this can be one of your part-time business. What’s more? You can even earn selling tutorials in which you teach others the art of designing websites.
Graphic Design
Graphics especially when they are well done endear people to a product or service provider. When you see a page like cnn.com what comes to mind? When you look the Bugati isn’t it beauty you see? These all began in the realm of imagination that later became expressed in graphics and then fashioned into their final states as it were.
If you are artistic graphic consulting is a way to go for you. Using your power of imagination and creativity graphic designing can translate into cash in your account. Take logo creation for instance. Designing logos for organisations is rewarding and can keep you busy and the money streaming in depending on your skill level. This is because every serious business must have something that represents it – its brand. Heineken for instance paid for the design of its unique bottles. Bottles are first conceived and than put into graphic format, the guide to designing the mould used in producing the final bottle. What would be your reaction if Apple or Microsoft comes to you to assist them in designing a new logo? Wouldn’t you smile secretly knowing what the reward would be?
Write something worth reading
Book writing is also a good way of generating extra income. When you have a good story to tell or an information craved by a particular audience your will make some dough putting them in books. Readers are said to be leaders. Hence they will always read books provided it be of good quality. Some publishers even call for scripts from willing individuals who wish to get published, hence it could be an opportunity for you, not only to earn but to become known as an author. A good book means you earn something as long as it is being sold.
What do you see online today? Articles on DIY’s etc. you also find audio and e-books too. You may decide to explore any of these as extra income sources. Produce audio and e-books that people can download after payment. People thirst for knowledge and information; and when you have got something to offer you gain both ways – impacting lives and earning good money too.
Another way you could earn as a writer is to get employed on pay per article basis. Many smart webmasters are willing to pay you from a couple of dollars to hundreds and above for well written articles/products they sell. This makes their job easier as they are spared the hassle of researching. Hence, they are willing to part with some dough. Why don’t you try it?
Online Publications
By online publication I am referring to online article writing. You can set up a blog and monetise it with affiliate ads or Google Adsense for example to earn some cash when visitors to your blog page click on and view displayed ads. Contrary to popular beliefs blogging is no easy task – except for content farms that either lift contents verbatim from other sources or utilise certain software for rewriting the information they so lift as it were.
But a good blog with good content that is relevant to the needs of your audience could be rewarding. However for this to be you must drive traffic to your blog page (or monetised website if that’s what you own) and hope your audience view some of your ad source. Of course to get good ads displayed on your pages you must have included keywords in the body of your content and to your page head tags.
Because I am aware that blogging for cash is not a get-rich-quick venture I focus on giving my audience good info or content and letting the rest take care of themselves- having done my part with respect to generating traffic using social plugins and properly researching and utilising high paying or keywords on my page html and content. Hence a hobby becomes a potential income stream for me. You too can do so too. Today some also set up pages with autopilot that takes care of their online business even when they are asleep. Why don’t you explore more on the art of money making online.
Conclusion
I have tried to show you how to improve on your financial base by creating multiple streams of income. In the above paragraphs we also identified two major rules guiding the rich and super rich – multiplying their wealth and continually building their capacity to earn especially through educating themselves. Building earning capacity and wealth multiplication is what the rich and super-rich do differently. Hence, if you in your quest for financial freedom do the above mentioned – plus others not included here – consistently you’ll be on your way to your destination of having substantial income, being wealthy.
Furthermore I went on to give you hints on what you should consider before exploring a particular line of investment and then proceeded to give you some idea of some of the things you can do to earn. As a last word however focus and commitment is key with regard to anything you want to do in life. Hence to successfully run your income generators you must be focused and committed to what you choose to do. I know this article is not exhaustive with regard to the wide ranging streams of income sources you can explore, but I believe it’s a starter for some. Good luck on your quest for greater financial freedom.
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