The $50,000.00 question that TICKS people off!

It is the famous $50,000.00 question which I love to ask people that come to my 3-day wealth intensive event called Celebration of Freedom.

It is a question that can help uncover which financial status a person is going to end up in. Now, the reason why this is so triggering is #1, people don’t like to be labeled, right? People don’t like to be stereotyped and a lot of people don’t even like the word status because they believe it’s “judgmental”, and they don’t like to be put in some type of category. Well, the truth about it is there are three different economic classes inside the U.S.. There is Poor, Middle-class, and Wealthy. Wealthy people are not better than poor or middle-class people, they are just wealthier. It’s just a different way of thinking.

So the question is, “If I were to give you $50,000.00 cash right now, no strings attached, tax-free, what would be the first thing you would do with that money?” How a person responds can give me an idea of where that person will end up financially for the rest of their life. The reason why I can say that is because there are a lot of patterns among people when it comes to finances. Now, before you get your panties in a wad, know that we are talking about stereotypes. There are exceptions to this rule, of course there are, and if you’re the type of person that would get crazy offended by me asking that question, then stop reading this, that’s fine, this message isn’t for you. 

But, the purpose of this message is to help uncover some of the habits and ways of thinking when it comes to the different areas of finance when it comes to the different economic statuses. People end up poor, middle-class, or wealthy first and foremost because of their ways of thinking. We are talking mostly about how they think and what their intentions are. Again, we are talking about the stereotypes, yes there are exceptions, but here is how most people like that would answer. 

A stereotypical poor-minded person would take that $50,000.00 and totally blow it on “stuff”. They would go and buy a new car, a new boat, they would go on that vacation, do whatever it is they want. They would take all that money, and they would give it to those people that own those companies where they are spending that money, leaving that person with no money. 

A stereotypical middle-class-minded person would go and pay off all their debts. For a middle-class-minded person, being “debt-free” is usually the Be-All-End-All financial goal. And they say, “I would put it towards my house, paying off my student loans, pay off my credit card, and pay off my car,” because to them just getting to zero, getting to debt-free, for some reason they have it ingrained in their mind that’s what they have to do first.

Unfortunately they don’t realize that when they retire, you can’t really retire on “no debt.” Does that make sense? You can’t go to the grocery store and show a card that says, “Hey, I’m debt free” and get groceries that way. You still have to have money coming in in order to make a transaction happen. Does that make sense?

 Plus, what comes after debt-free? If they haven’t thought about that, then all they know to do with money is pay off debt. So what happens when there’s no more debt to pay? They create more to then pay off! It’s a crazy middle-class cycle. 

Again, most middle-class-minded people would first take the money and put it towards their debt. 

A wealthy-minded person would say, “Oh, I would take that money and I would invest it, and then pay myself, and maybe I would pay off debts with what’s leftover, or with income that comes in from my investments.” For example, let’s say they would take that $50,000.00 and they would put down payments on two rental properties, just an example, and then use the banks money to pay for the rest of those houses (a mortgage). They get renters into those properties, and they use the cash flow that they generate from those rental properties in order to then pay themselves and pay off their debts a lot easier. Does that make sense?

There are a lot of people that say, “Well you can’t have your cake and eat it too!” Well, financially you can, as long as you invest it first. Now, is it wrong to pay off debts? Is it wrong to go on vacation? Is it wrong to buy that stuff? Of course not. Those things are good when done properly. Again, the question was not, “What are you going to do?” The question is, “What would be the FIRST things you would want to do with that money?” The first things, not everything overall. If after you invest that money, if you then want to use the cash flow to pay off some debts, fantastic! Because then you use that to increase your income. 

Now, what are some of the very best ways to increase your income? Most people would agree that the absolute best investment that you can make is an investment in yourself. Most people would agree that learning a single new skill can make all the difference between financial mediocrity and financial success.

For me, it was learning a number of skills, those skills included presentation skills, holistic healthcare skills, becoming a licensed holistic healthcare practitioner, certifying in different techniques, mentoring skills, of course learning how to run a business, and probably the most important skill for people that want to dramatically increase their income is learning how to sell.

Now, a lot of people hear the words “selling” and “sales” and they want to run. They have these crazy negative connotations when it comes to sales. They think of those old sleazy used-car salesmen, right, honest Bob, honest John or whatever it is, and they are like, “I don’t want to be sleazy.” OK good, don’t! The best salespeople in the world aren’t sleazy, high pressure, or whatever it is. The best salespeople in the world simply know how to convey a certain message in a way that causes other people to want to take action. 

We see sales all over the place. An employee going in to ask his boss for a raise; that requires sales. A boyfriend that wants to propose to his girlfriend; that involves sales. Parents that have little kids, you better believe you’ve gotta be selling every single day to get your kids to do their chores, to pick up after themselves, and get good grades, and do what they’re supposed to do, right?

Selling is all over the place, so the process of selling is one that is extremely important. For me, investing in how to sell was something that made a huge difference for us. We actually have over a 90% closing ratio when it comes to 1-on-1 or 1-on-2 sales because we invested in learning those skills.

Now, does that mean that when people come in to get information about some of the services we offer that we are super high pressure? No, absolutely not. In fact, every time I do a high-ticket transaction, I will ask them point blank, “Did it feel like you were pressured in any way, shape, or form? I’ve never once had a person say yes, never once. We do high ticket transactions, sometimes very high ticket transactions, and simply because we learn how to identify a person’s needs. If we don’t know how to fill that need, then we will refer them out to another professional.

If we do know how to fill a person’s need, then we let the person know about it. We simply make it a process of elimination. We say, “If this is not the absolute best thing for you right now, tell us no thank you. If this is the best thing, if this would fit your needs, then tell me, ‘Yes please.” And this is one of the reasons why we have such a high closing ratio, and what has allowed us to grow our company so fast.

One more time, the $50,000.00 question that ticks people off, because “how dare you, Eric, put people in boxes and label them.” I know, I get it. Have a sense of humor about it, and use this as a growing opportunity. Remember, growth takes place outside your comfort zone, right?

And so, a stereotypical poor-minded person will blow all that money, give it all away buying “stuff” that’s not going to give them a return on their investment and leaving that person with no money.

A stereotypical middle-class-minded person would go and pay off their debts. Basically, giving all that money back to the banks and credit unions that loaned them that money, then leaving that person with no money. 

A wealthy person would invest it. Whether that’s an investment in their education, an investment in real estate, or whatever it is, investing in something that will grow their income and give them a return on their investment. Then, with the cash flow, the extra money they are then receiving from that investment, that’s what they use to then pay off debt, take that vacation, buy that car, or whatever it is. 

Of course, the best investment you can make is in yourself. Personally, some of the best investments and skills that I’ve learned have been to sell, increase business, presentation skills, and more. So find ways to invest in yourself. 

If you haven’t joined our Enjoy Yourself Thin Facebook group, it is totally free. If you watch this on YouTube, make sure to subscribe and click like on the video. If you know people you want to get a rise out of, hopefully it’s a positive rise, right? If you know people that need this training, please make sure to share it with them and make sure to leave a comment. And of course, as always, love you!

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