24 responses so far ↓

• Jim // Feb 1, 2008 at 11:36 am

  Great post. It’s not about the money you have, it’s what you do with it. Blowing a 100 grand in a few months does nothing for a homeless person. Spending all you make and living with consumer debt only adds stress to our lives. Money is NOT the answer to everything. It is a tool that needs to be properly used.

• Mary Gallagher // Feb 1, 2008 at 12:28 pm

  Thanks, Lynn, One of my favorite topics! Ready for that million dollar income? I am in the process of becoming a person who is….

  For now, I enjoy who I am, what I have, what I do and what I desire and you can’t go wrong with that. It’s in the daily incremental movements toward targets, income, wealth and happiness laced with our integral values that we find our millions.

  Nothing beats the feeling that what I ACT on today will bring me what I truly want and can receive graciously.
  Best,
  Mary

• makingyouricher review page // Feb 1, 2008 at 1:35 pm

  Thanks Lynn. Timeless advice this is. Yes, I’ve heard of scary stories like this, “He was homeless again, with nothing to show for it, in a matter of months…”

  I am prepared for my first millions, any amount but I don’t believe, just as you’ve pointed out, theat money alone justify happiness.

  Anyway, I recommend that people buy and read a book titled “The Richest Man in Babylon” today.

  Thanks. Please keep this kind of post coming

• Robert Nelson // Feb 1, 2008 at 5:13 pm

  It sold out in less than a hour if memory serves. The number of emails extorting one to get on board was disgusting. It sure isn’t hard to guess what the latest buzz is.

  Regarding the homeless man who blew through his money in nothing flat. Even buying a car for the person at the recycling center where he took his recycles. And of course the fact that he is once again homeless isn’t his fault according to him in response to questions from Oprah. But he got more than one fair weather friend till the money was gone. He proves that money by itself isn’t the answer, but rather how and why you spend or save it.

• Vera Raposo // Feb 1, 2008 at 5:39 pm

  Thanks Lynn for sharing, I like to think about how I’m going to build my assets and forget the rest.

• Teli Adlam // Feb 1, 2008 at 7:32 pm

  The comment by “making you richer review page” above reminded me of something I heard once…

  “Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht and you can sail up pretty damn close to it.”

  (I can’t recall the movie that line is from right now…sigh.)

  But on a more serious note, Lynn, I agree with what you’ve said. Before anyone can become truly wealthy, one must understand what wealth is internally first.

  Be content in the moment, be wise, and before you know it, wealth will become your tail (following you wherever you go).

  ~ Teli

• Lynn Terry // Feb 1, 2008 at 8:30 pm

  Great comments here - Thank you!

  I watched Oprah’s “Windfall” segment a few weeks ago when it aired as a re-run, and the stories stayed on my mind. So often we hear goals in the IM & eBiz communities of “I want to make a million dollars” or on the flip side we hear stories like Frank Kern’s of earning $1 million in an hour - and that troubles me from both sides.

  In regards to goals, a long-term plan must be in place. And there has to be a goal outside of money.

  You have to keep in mind too that a taxable net income of $250k (just a quarter of a million) would put you in a tax bracket of 33%. It pays to have a plan in place to avoid writing a check to the IRS to the tune of a small house or a luxury automobile…

  I’ll address that more in a future post because there are things you can do as your business - and your income - grows to keep things manageable.

• Nell Taliercio // Feb 2, 2008 at 12:27 am

  My goal isn’t a million. Or maybe I should say, I don’t look at the over all number. I look at the monthly number. Makes it seem more attainable and not so overwhelming.

• Daniel // Feb 2, 2008 at 8:34 am

  Nice post! Enjoying myself reading this.

• Lynn Terry // Feb 2, 2008 at 9:05 am

  I dont either, Nell. Current stats are great because they are a guage as to how well you are doing or how successful the projects are that you’ve poured your heart into. But once I met my minimum financial goals, from there the focus was simply on funding true goals in life (and funding them with both time and money). Buy a home, write a book, etc etc - “make a million dollars” has never been on the list.

• Cynthia // Feb 2, 2008 at 3:31 pm

  Thanks for the wise reminder Lynn. I do have my “Windfall Wisdom” list that I keep safely tucked away so that should it ever happen to me I have my good sense already written down to refer to. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to use it.

• Al // Feb 3, 2008 at 7:24 am

  Hi Lynn, my name is Al and arrived here thru a maze of clicks. I’ve spent the last half hour or more reading through your site and I have to tell you it has been very enjoyable. I’m glad I found it and of course bookmarked it. I am a total newbie to Internet Marketing and I was able to manage to get thru the feeding frenzy and get in to Frank’s Mass Control. I totally agree with you. I’m not looking to “get rich quick” just jump start and learn techniques. When I first heard about MC in the fall, I thought “yeah right” $2000 not me. But, as I saw the nibbling turn to a frenzy my opinion changed. I don’t expect that to duplicate to myself in the near future. I just want something in place for when the corporate pink slip arrives. I want t live life the way I feel it was meant to be, comfortable, enjoable, & stressless. About 10 yrs ago I was fortunate enough to work for a very wealthy old money family. That exposure eye opening. I learned that one has to respect a large sum of money. Otherwise, here today partied away tomorrow. there is a huge difference in the way money is viewed between “old” and “new” money. Old has the respect while New enjoys flaunting it. It is said that wealth, money, lasts 3 generations. Earning (hard work), Preserving (having seen the hard work), and Spending (windfall). Anyway, apologies for the length, I have to get back to work. One thing I did do regarding MC was to start a blog (my first) to journal my experience at mymasscontrol.net it is not monetized and not taking comments (too much spam I heard). Just needed a place to keep it. So, if anyone wants to check it out go for it, I’ll never know.

  Glad I found your site
  Al

• Lynn Terry // Feb 3, 2008 at 10:26 am

  Great points, Al - and welcome to ClickNewz

  I’ll definitely check it out. There is a plugin called Akismet which should already be installed - you simply have to activate it - that will allow you to open commenting on your blog and control the comment spam issue. You can search “askismet” in the search bar at the top left here at ClickNewz to read more on that.

• Juliette // Feb 4, 2008 at 9:44 am

  Hey Lynn,

  Can I be the first person here to say I *don’t* want to make a million? I have heard too many of these stories, and seen too many people spoilt by money to fall into that strap.

  I am aiming for a steady income that allows me and my family to live comfortably, nothing more. As long as we have that, we can concentrate on what’s really important in life.

  Thanks for a great blog,
  J

• Lynn Terry // Feb 4, 2008 at 9:49 am

  Ditto that, Juliette

• Shannon // Feb 4, 2008 at 10:18 am

  Okay, I do want a million dollars. Heck I want a couple of million dollars. But that will be money earned over my lifetime to fund my retirement.

  I highly recommend Dave Ramsey and his Total Money Makeover. Completely changed our lives for the better. You will never look at money or debt the same way again.

• Al // Feb 4, 2008 at 11:51 am

  Money doesn’t ruin people. People ruin themselves. The bad stories, usually excess, are from people who did not understand how to respect their windfall. I’d like to make a millions but, at the sametime I have matured and would respect the new found freedom. Now, I really would not want to win a huge lottery jackpot. A small one maybe but, not a huge one. That brings with it the publishing of your personal information. The world population starts crawling out of the woodwork. To earn a large sum and plan out in advance where it will go and avoid the over indulgence is a different scenario. One should always remember where they came from. Otherwise, the “vacation” will eventually come to an end. It’s easy to rise but, falling is very hard.

  Al

• Scrapbooking Cutters // Feb 4, 2008 at 1:35 pm

  Great post, always enjoy your level-headed perspective on web entrepreneurship. I couldn’t agree more that it comes with patience. Too often, I think people look at their lives and want the change that a lot of money would bring.. and they want it now! They’re just setting themselves up for failure… the frustration that comes from not succeeding right away will turn them away before they should be giving up. As my old Comp sci prof used to say… “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”

• Wayne // Feb 9, 2008 at 4:49 pm

  I agree with Al. I wanted residual income and the ability to work from home because corporate America can not be depended on any more. A discussion of “why” would be the subject of article by itself. I have scanned much from the comments Al wrote and I agreed, felt emotional about, re-experienced the ‘Ah-Ha’ moments all over again. I have to agree with Al on one more point –that being Lynn you do things right I have followed your articles for sometime. I subscribe to ClickNewz and I think you bring ’spring-time’ freshness to your articles.

• Wayne // Feb 9, 2008 at 4:57 pm

  After much soul-searching - I came up with my plan I would implement if/when I reached the ‘windfall’ of money OR earned it. Simple steps like Get legal counsel retained–Set up a trust fund for daughter- then ’sit’ on the ‘money’ until all the commotion ‘died down’ and the fact that you got money became yesterday’s news. There maybe more steps left out BUT i reasoned that those would help the Emotions slow down. Anybody agree/disagree?
  Wayne

• Lynn Terry // Feb 9, 2008 at 7:46 pm

  Strategic financial planning is important. You want to keep a level head and think long-term, whether you are just starting out towards your goals, or dealing with a windfall.

  A big consideration will have to be your choice of tax shelters. It makes sense to invest in business and income sources, for continued financial security. But you’ll also want to look into things like SEP as a means of putting away large amounts of money that you want to hold on to until you are in a different tax bracket.

  There is MUCH to consider in any of those types of situations (hard-earned income or unexpected fortune). With more wealth comes more responsibility…

• Darwin // Feb 9, 2008 at 10:00 pm

  Great Post Lynn

  I was fascinated watching the unfolding of the MC campaign. There is no doubt Frank is an excellent marketer. He seems to be humbly confident in his skills. I never got the feeling he was trying to market a get rich quick scheme, only good marketing strategies.

  I enjoyed that episode of Oprah. It reinforced other studies I have read about instant wealth. That segment about the homeless man was interesting. The bottom line seems to have been that he tagged himself as a homeless man who lives day to day. That is when he is most comfortable.

  I believe anything you truly value you must have had an investment of time, energy or money. If you build your business, wealth, career or relationship and such you will grow with it and learn it.

  When I was lecturing at a university here in Thailand most of the students, maybe 85%, were studying due to government loans. But my best students came from a small group who were acutally working a part time job to pay for their education. My belief is that this is because they had an investment in their learning.

  You can see examples of building versus overnight success in many areas. The builders are normally enduring. I consider Clint Eastwood a builder, he started small and built his career and has been extremely successful.

  I somehow found Aaron Wall and his SEObook. I was impressed at what he offered for free on his blog. The tutorials and tools he has made available are valuable enough but that is what prompted me to invest in his book. Good stuff.

  I recently discovered that link clicking can be extremely beneficial. Successful and knowledgeable people seem to stay connected.

• Al // Feb 10, 2008 at 7:38 am

  I agree, obviously since that was the main reason for my buying MC, with Darwin. Not only is his down to earth way good but, he has a ton of information. Learning his methodology is well worth the cost. My only downside is that being new it took a little time for it to be absorbed. After a week and multiple watchings of the videos things are really starting to fall in to place. All in all MC has probably saved me a years time.

  Al

• Bobby Bentley // Feb 12, 2008 at 6:46 pm

  You know, one of my mentors told me this when I was pretty young, and it always stuck with me… he said, “you MUST be prepared to receive ADULT money”.

  Most people that get money “handed” to them end up blowing it and making their situations worse because they are not truly ready to receive the blessing of wealth.

Leave a Comment