#005 - The Wealthy 24 Year-Old
Kolin writes a letter to himself from the future, where his future self has achieved wealth - money, health, relationships, and time.
Don’t want to read? No problem! You can listen to me reading the article to you by clicking the play button above.
Welcome to the 5th edition of The Wealth Letters, a collection of insights from all walks of life on the pursuit of wealth, wisdom, and meaning.
If you haven’t done so, please read or listen to the manifesto before diving in to the collection, as it will give a clear vision of the project; the Who, What, and Why.
I challenge you to read this letter as if it is being written to you personally. Be willing to be vulnerable and open your mind to ideas and suggestions that have proven worthwhile in another’s journey. Do not blindly accept any and all advice given, but rather take in the information and distill it down to if & how it can be applied to YOU and your unique self.
Michael Jordan said that he imitated Dr. J.
Kobe Bryant said he studied and imitated Jordan.
But, they mixed in their own uniqueness.
While not everything will relate directly to one’s current situation at the exact moment, there may be some gems that will be worthwhile in time.
The following letter was written by Kolin specially for The Wealth Letters. Kolin is the founder of Decade Investor, and is 24 years old (at the time of this writing). He created Decade Investor to get investors (especially the younger generation) excited about investing.
Kolin gave a personal note to readers of The Wealth Letters:
I hope you find value in my wealth letter & if you ever have any questions or need some motivation on your journey, you can find me on Twitter & YouTube under the name @DecadeInvestor! Keep going & keep stacking!
Photo credit to Decade Investor
Objectives / Overview:
Future Kolin is wealthy (in money, time, relationships, and health). But, how did he get there?
Wealth is misunderstood by most people…what is true wealth?
Money isn’t everything, but it is an important tool (The 4 lessons of money)
Dear Future Wealthy Me,
You did it. You hit your goals. You achieved wealth. Not just financial wealth, but also wealth in your relationships, wealth in your health & wealth with your time. I am proud of you.
Okay, wait a minute…
Let’s back up a few decades… how can we get here?
To me, wealth is misunderstood by most people. Wealth, to most people, means having a lot of zeros in their bank account. Wealth, to most people, means having multiple vacation homes. Wealth, to most people, means making millions of dollars. While all that is awesome, I don’t believe that to be what true wealth really means.
To me, money isn’t even in most people’s top 4 list of importance.
To most people, family is more important than money.To most people, health is more important than money.
To most people, freedom is more important than money.
To most people, relationships are more important than money.
If you have a good family, are in good health, have a strong support group of close friends & have the freedom to wake up whenever you want to, you are already wealthy. You hit the jackpot.
Cool, awesome, great… that sounds good. But what about that money part?I can say this, NOT having money is definitely not a good thing. It causes stress, it causes panic, it causes the inability to take opportunities. Most people can agree that NOT having money is not ideal. But time & time again, we see that having money also does NOT automatically mean your life is good either.
With all that being said, how does one become wealthy with money?
I have spent 1000’s of hours reading books, articles, listening to podcasts & interviews of those who are where most people want to be (they are millionaires). I have found a lot of commonalities between all the messages. A few differences. But 4 consistent lessons keep getting brought up by my research.
So… What were those 4 lessons?
Start today
Invest in yourself
Work smart & hard on ONE thing
Think long term
The first message I see a ton of wealthy people preach is: start now. We all get one life. You get one life. I get one life. The greatest time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
If you fail, get back up and try again. While life is long, life is also short. Start now. Quit delaying & putting if off until next week. Next week will never come. I challenge you to start today. Open that investment account. Create that LLC. Send that first email. Start now.
The second message I see consistent in my research is to invest in yourself. While investing in Tesla in 2012 generated massive returns, there is NO greater return on investment than investing in yourself.
How can you invest in yourself? Read books. Watch YouTube videos. Buy courses. Invest in your knowledge. Invest in your skillset. Invest in skills that demand a higher pay. Why? The more money you can make, the more money you have to invest into assets (which will further your wealth even more).
The third message I see mentioned a ton when listening to wealthy people is to work smart and focus on one thing. If hard work was a determinant of wealth, construction workers would be the highest paid people. Sadly, hard work is not a determinant of wealth.
Hard work coupled with smart work is one determinant of wealth. Once you educate yourself on the skills, execute. If education is a car, execution is the fuel. Find the thing that works for you, work hard & work smart. Do it consistently over & over again. In due time, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.
The fourth and final message is near & dear to my heart. I started the brand Decade Investor to remind people to think long term in a short term world. One of my favorite quotes is by Bill Gates who said:
“People often overestimate what they can do in one year, but underestimate what they can do in ten years”.
It is very hard to lose when you think long term. It is very difficult to lose when you are planning to do something for 10+ years, while your competition is trying to get rich by tomorrow. The majority of people think short term. The majority of people aren’t wealthy.
You have to do things that feel abnormal. You have to zig while everyone else is zagging. Building wealth is hard…but, so is living paycheck to paycheck. Learning a new skill is hard…but, so is being in the same spot you were a decade ago.
Everything in life is hard. Choose your hard.
Go back to the first line of this letter. If you follow the steps laid out in my wealth letter, that can be the future you. You can accomplish all your goals. You can reach the wealth you want…in all areas of your life.
I’ll leave you with this. While we are on this amazing journey of building wealth, remember that having a ton of zeros in your bank account is great, but true wealth isn’t the money. It is not the fancy cars. It is not the multiple houses.
It is the freedom money provides, the relationships we have, our health & the family we get to spend time with.
See, most people are actually wealthy already, they just don’t realize it.
Brick by Brick,
Kolin AKA @DecadeInvestor
The TLDR/L (Too long, didn’t read / listen):
Wealth isn’t just about the money. Wealth has components that need to be in balance for one to have true wealth (financial wealth, physical wealth, relational wealth, and time wealth).
Money doesn’t equate to true wealth, but money is a necessary tool for a wealthy life in all areas.
There are similarities in how the millionaires built their wealth: starting early, investing in yourself, focusing on one thing, and thinking long-term.
Most people are actually already wealthy; we just don’t realize it.
What is your takeaway from this letter?
Thank You for Your Support
Would you consider sharing The Wealth Letters with a friend? That would be so much appreciated:
Want to share your own Wealth Letter and be featured in the collection & future published book?
If that sounds interesting to you, here is a link to write your letter for the collection.
If you would like to voice record your wealth letter, you can do that easily by clicking here (your voice recording will then be sent to me directly).
I always appreciate any feedback, ideas for letters, or just to chat!
Reach out via email: support@thewealthletters.com or by commenting on this post.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Jordan
Well done piece. Health is wealth! Love this: "Most people are actually already wealthy; we just don’t realize it."
I've heard similar things, maybe I'm on the right track. Or maybe I'm already wealthy! Appreciate this piece.