ccess　and　retirement。

2。

　You　work　for　the　government。

　The　government　takes　its　share　from　your　paycheck　before　you　even　see　it。

　　By　working　harder；　you　simply　increase　the　amount　of　taxes　taken　by　the　government　…　most　people　work　from　January　to　May　just　for　the　government。

3。

　You　work　for　the　bank。

　After　taxes；　your　next　largest　expense　is　usually　your　mortgage　and　credit　card　debt。

The　problem　with　simply　working　harder　is　that　each　of　these　three　levels　takes　a　greater　share　of　your　increased　efforts。

　You　need　to　learn　how　to　have　your　increased　efforts　benefit　you　and　your　family　directly。

Once　you　have　decided　to　concentrate　on　minding　your　own　business；　how　do　you　set　your　goals？　　For　most　people；　they　must　keep　their　profession　and　rely　on　their　wages　to　fund　their　acquisition　of　assets。

As　their　assets　grow；　how　do　they　measure　the　extent　of　their　success？　When　does　someone　realize　that　they　are　rich；　that　they　have　wealth？　As　well　as　having　my　own　definitions　for　assets　and　liabilities；　I　also　have　my　own　definition　for　wealth。

　Actually　I　borrowed　it　from　a　man　named　Buckminster　Fuller。

　　Some　call　him　a　quack；　and　others　call　him　a　living　genius。

　　Years　ago　he　got　all　the　architects　buzzing　because　he　applied　for　a　patent　in　1961　for　something　called　a　geodesic　dome。

　But　in　the　application；　Fuller　also　said　something　about　wealth。

　　It　was　pretty　confusing　at　first；　but　after　reading　it　for　awhile；　it　began　to　make　some　sense：　Wealth　is　a　persons　ability　to　survive　so　many　number　of　days　forward。

。

。

　or　if　I　stopped　working　today；　how　long　could　I　survive？

Unlike　net　worth…the　difference　between　your　assets　and　liabilities；　which　is　often　filled　with　a　persons　expensive　junk　and　opinions　of　what　things　are　worth…this　definition　creates　the　possibility　for　developing　a　truly　accurate　measurement。

　　I　could　now　measure　and　really　know　where　I　was　in　terms　of　my　goal　to　bee　financially　independent。

Although　net　worth　often　includes　these　non…cash…producing　assets；　like　stuff　you　bought　that　now　sits　in　your　garage；　wealth　measures　how　much　money　your　money　is　making　and；　therefore；　your　financial　survivability。

Wealth　is　the　measure　of　the　cash　flow　from　the　asset　column　pared　with　the　expense　column。

Lets　use　an　example。

　Lets　say　I　have　cash　flow　from　my　asset　column　of　S〃J；000　a　month。

　And　I　have　monthly　expenses　of　52；000。

　What　is　my　wealth？

Lets　go　back　to　Buckminster　Fullers　definition。

　Using　his　definition；　how　many　days　forward　can　I　survive？　And　lets　assume　a　30…day　month。

　By　that　definition；　I　have　enough　cash　flow　for　half　a　month。

When　I　have　achieved　2；000　a　month　cash　flow　from　my　assets；　then　I　will　be　wealthy。

So　I　am　not　yet　rich；　but　I　am　wealthy。

　　I　now　have　ine　generated　from　assets　each　month　that　fully　cover　my　monthly　expenses。

　If　I　want　to　increase　my　expenses；　I　first　must　increase　my　cash　flow　from　assets　to　maintain　this　level　of　wealth。

　Take　notice　that　it　is　at　this　point　that　I　no　longer　am　dependent　on　my　wages。

　　I　have　focused　on　and　been　successful　in　building　an　asset　column　that　has　made　me　financially　independent。

　　　If　I　quit　my　job　today；　I　would　be　able　to　cover　my　monthly　expenses　with　the　cash　flow　from　my　assets。