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第13部分（第1页）

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。

My　next　goal　would　be　to　have　the　excess　cash　flow　from　my　assets　reinvested　into　the　asset　column。　　The　more　money　that　goes　into　my　asset　column；　the　more　my　asset　column　grows。　The　more　my　assets　grow；　the　more　my　cash　flow　grows。　And　as　long　as　I　keep　my　expenses　less　than　the　cash　flow　from　these　assets；　I　will　grow　richer；　with　more　and　more　ine　from　sources　other　than　my　physical　labor。

As　this　reinvestment　process　continues；　I　am　well　on　my　way　to　being　rich。　　The　actual　definition　of　rich　is　in　the　eye　of　the　beholder。　You　can　never　be　too　rich。

Just　remember　this　simple　observation：　The　rich　buy　assets。　The　poor　only　have　expenses。　The　middle　class　buys　liabilities　they　think　are　assets。　So　how　do　I　start　minding　my　own　business？　What　is　the　answer？　Listen　to　the　founder　of　McDonalds。

CHAPTER　FOUR

Lesson　Three：　Mind　Your　Own　Business

In　1974；　Ray　Kroc；　the　founder　of　McDonalds；　was　asked　to　speak　to　the　MBA　class　at　the　University　of　Texas　at　Austin。　A　dear　friend　of　mine；　Keith　Cunningham；　was　a　student　in　that　MBA　class。　After　a　powerful　and　inspiring　talk；　the　class　adjourned　and　the　students　asked　Ray　if　he　would　join　them　at　their　favorite　hangout　to　have　a　few　beers。　　Ray　graciously　accepted。

〃What　business　am　I　in？〃　Ray　asked；　once　the　group　had　all　their　beers　in　hand。

〃Everyone　laughed；〃　said　Keith。　〃Most　of　the　MBA　students　thought　Ray　was　just　fooling　around。〃

No　one　answered；　so　Ray　asked　the　question　again。　〃What　business　do　you　think　Im　in？〃

The　students　laughed　again；　and　finally　one　brave　soul　yelled　out；　〃Ray；　who　in　the　world　does　not　know　that　youre　in　the　hamburger　business。〃

Ray　chuckled。　〃That　is　what　I　thought　you　would　say。〃　He　paused　and　then　quickly　said；　ladies　and　gentlemen；　Im　not　in　the　hamburger　business。　My　business　is　real　estate。〃

Keith　said　that　Ray　spent　a　good　amount　of　time　explaining　his　viewpoint。　　　In　their　business　plan；　Ray　knew　that　the　primary　business　focus　was　to　sell　hamburger　franchises；　but　what　he　never　lost　sight　of　was　the　location　of　each　franchise。　He　knew　that　the　real　estate　and　its　location　was　the　most　significant　factor　in　the　success　of　each　franchise。　Basically；　the　person　that　bought　the　franchise　was　also　paying　for；　buying；　the　land　under　the　franchise　for　Ray　Krocs　organization。