We all strive to generate wealth and often times fail, or at times feel wealth creation in India is just impossible. But actually there is something wrong in our approach to wealth and that is the problem
There won’t be anyone who wouldn’t want to generate wealth. I mean who wouldn’t want to be rich, make money, and have a comfortable lifestyle? Maybe a sage, but not all of us are sages and hence money is what a lot of us want, heck all of us want to earn money… earn more money. But it is illusive, isn’t it? Wealth, money, riches somehow happen to others and we only keep striving. Why is all this?
If you wonder all that and really feel that wealth creation in India is way too difficult, or have given up hopes, then probably it is not because wealth creation is difficult, well, not as much as we think it is. The problem is two folds: 1, our concept of wealth is wrong and 2; we don’t approach wealth creation the way it should be.
What is wealth?
We all know how to make money, one way, or another. We earn money by doing jobs, business, investing, some win lotteries, some have really good relatives (boy, don’t we wish we all had those), some are just born rich and some make money by themselves. Whatever it is, we all strive for wealth. But what is wealth?
Well, it is just the end result of your accumulated income, savings, and return on investments and how well you have managed to make your money grow in India. It is something that gives you a feeling of financial security, when you actually stop fearing the day you won’t be earning anymore. In simple words it is your financial comfort zone.
But for a lot of us wealth creation in India is purely making more money. If I have more money than my neighbour, I am wealthy, if I don’t, I am not. This is not wealth. This is just a zeal or enthusiasm to earn more money and keep earning and then earning some more, and before you know it, most of our life has flown away in this race to generate wealth.
This is the primary reason we never feel wealthy. That brings us to our second point, our approach to wealth creation.
What is wrong with our approach to Wealth Creation and making money in India?
As I said above, we strive to earn money and not create wealth. Wealth is your financial comfort that will make sure that you have enough money to pay your bills, have food to eat and have a roof over your head, and allow you to enjoy your life in a ‘reasonable’ manner, anything more than that is great to have, but it is just bonus money.
Well, we all love bonuses but then the only reason we never feel wealthy is we never really stop to look at the money that we already have accumulated so far in life and how we can make it grow the right way. You will keep earning money as long as you can, and trust me you will make decent money. But the problem arises when we neglect the money we have and run after the money we don’t. That is when we start to think, our neighbour is wealthier than us, we are not wealthy at all, and all that negativity ensures that you never ever become wealthy.
So what to do to be wealthy in India?
Change your mind-set. If you feel you can meet your daily expenses, you can pay your bills, save some money and invest well to be able to have a decent corpus to meet the expenses of education and marriage of your kids; you have enough wealth. Trust me. But, it doesn’t mean you have to lay back and enjoy. No, keep earning money, but not run after it. You may feel that I am contradicting myself, but it’s actually simple what I mean.
Firstly, if you are earning, look to save a bit more. Invest, and by that I mean invest sensibly and don’t speculate or follow tips, learn to manage your own money and take steps towards your financial freedom. If you do this sincerely, you will be wealthy and have enough when the time comes. So instead of running after ‘More Money’, pause, and think of what are you doing with the money you have? If you can’t manage what you already have, you will, and I mean you WILL NEVER manage the ‘extra’ money you are trying to earn and hence you will NEVER be wealthy. Think over it.
Secondly, instead of running after money and focussing on how to make more money, focus on how to make others pay you more money. I did a post recently, on ‘what is your greatest asset‘, and I mentioned that your biggest asset is you, and your earning potential and nothing else. So basically if you upgrade yourself, you will upgrade your finances. So focus on how can you make yourself more valuable to your boss if you are in a job, and if you are in business, see how you can be more valuable to your customers and the money will come.
It is very easy to give examples of Dhirubhai Ambani and how he went from rags to riches, but very difficult to do what he did, he upgraded and self taught himself. He had no fancy degree, he had a vision and focus, and you know how the money followed.
Wealth creation in India, and making money, or making more money are different things. Your focus has to be on what you have and how to better it. You need to pause and slowdown if you have to, clear your mind, take stock of what options you have and then use your biggest asset, YOU, to generate wealth.
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