When it comes to making money, some just seem to effortlessly bump into money making opportunities and begin to achieve incredible levels of financial success. Everyone else (yep most of society) never seem to unlock the difficult yet rather simple code of financial success. I am not talking holy grail here, just some key distinctions in behavior and habits.

Here are two key reasons why some have figured out how to transcend (or rise above) financial mediocrity and capitalize on money making opportunities.

1. Ask the right questions.

They ask the right questions first of themselves and then others to gain the right answers to move them to the next level. How do they know which are the right questions to ask?  They identify their “what.” For example, they ask themselves what their purpose is, what their intentions are, what they want to experience and what they want others to experience by them following their purpose and passion.

Asking “what” brings clarity, understanding, and opens doors once believed to be closed.  Once the clouds have parted and the path becomes clear, one can see and feel (you know…that gut feeling) the right questions to ask. Again, I’m not talking voo-doo here, just simple clarity. W live in society where gadgets, information, and entertainment often distract us. Turning off the TV, Internet, and iPhone to stop and gain some clarity can be difficult, yet powerful. 

Here are some powerful questions as food for thought:

“What can I do to give, right now?”

“Where can love more?”

2. Gain an Understanding

Those who have transcended medocrity and become financially free, wealthy, rich, or however you define it, set their goals and make financial decisions from a state of understanding rather than bravado.

They gain a deep understanding of their own purpose in life, their passion, and the lifestyle they want to live. They make decisions from this understanding and then design their money, assets, businesses or investments around it.

In contrast, most people rooted in mediocrity find jobs, strive for more income, buy cars, save money and then try to fit their lifestyle around these material things. The average person is in motion, working hard and striving for a better life, but held back because of their false confidence. They are fearful.

They are fearful of:

Losing their job/income. Being poor!

Not being able to enjoy life. Working too hard and long.

The stock market not performing.

Outliving their money.

Starting a business and failing. Making mistakes.

When it comes down to it, a lack of understanding people has people stuck in financial mediocrity.  This lack of understanding of one’s purpose in life prevents them from changing their financial results.

To understand how to transcend financial mediocrity and align with money making opportunities, you first must gain an understanding. Understand?

Were you there? At the economic crisis rally? There were several held in most cities across the country at three in the morning the day after Thanksgiving.

Yes I am talking about Black Friday. Although I was sound asleep until 6:00am when my son woke me fired up to play with his Hot Wheels, I heard stories throughout the day of people standing in lines four people wide and three football fields long.

What economic crisis? These people didn’t arrive at the local Best Buy at 2am to “browse” the merchandise, they came to spend money baby! They were holding rallies to show that this economy is thriving.

So despite an economic crisis we’re supposedly having here in the US, what drives the Black Friday shoppers to fore go sleep and the tail end of their Thanksgiving dinner to stand in line to “maybe” grab a killer deal?

Scarcity.

The retailers market Black Friday to talk to the scarcity mindset our society is living in. The most famous is the “limited quantity” loss leader product. The one advertisement that shows a common item like a plasma TV on sale for a ridiculously low price with an asterisk saying there is only a certain number available.  The belief that money is scarce drives people out to be the first in line to buy a TV they believe is normally too expensive for them. Why else would they be at the store at one in the morning?

The retailers are hoping this savings frenzy pours over into other products in the store.  You can’t just buy a TV on Black Friday. Spending your precious sleep time in line with a bunch of strangers, you also need a Blu-Ray player and a blender too, right?

Simply put, people want to save money so they give up their time to do so. The nationwide focus is on trying to find ways to cut back and save money, instead of placing attention on ways to be more productive and create more money.

Which would you rather have? More than enough money to buy anything you wanted at full price? Or to be coupon clipping and pulling all-nighters to find savings that fit your perceived limited budget?

Telling ourselves we need to cut back keeps us in a scarcity mindset. How much longer do you want to tell yourself you “can’t afford it” unless it goes on sale?

Instead find a way to produce more money. No justifying why you “can’t” make more money.  Believe me I have heard a lot of them.

A great place to start is identifying what is a more important asset? Time or money?

I know what a billionaire would say. What about you?

I would love it if you would please post your comments here. Which is more important to you? Time or money and why?

It’s amazing how we came to this fantastic world with no direction. None of us came out of  the womb and were handed an operating manual detailing out how this world works.

Our task….. figure it all out. The hints and keys to our success are everywhere only most people do not see them and don’t even know to look.

If it were obvious everyone would be healthy, rich, and happy. Unfortunately very few reach their own prosperity because they follow someone else’s manual.

Most of us are trained and conditioned by family, society, culture, or religions, that this world is hard. We have to struggle and work hard to get what we want.  

Who wrote this manual? A cave man? Now those guys had to work hard just to survive the bigger, stronger, faster predators.  

Those who embark on the journey to greater understanding of how the world works, write their own manual and reap the incredible rewards.  They realize prosperity is a reality.

Those who choose not to create their own journey are forced to live by someone else’s rules and someone else’s manual.

What manual are you following?

• The one some poor soul wrote that said you have to go out and “earn a living?”
• The one that said go to school, get a job and compete the rest of your life for more money, status, and success.
• The one that tells you to invest for the “long term” in someone else’s purpose in life and hope that investment will be large enough to support you through retirement?

In 2003 I had enough. I could see the wrtting on the wall. I began a journey to find my own purpose and passion and chose to invest in my life and write my own manual.

A manual that says:

• I am full of infinite potential the world is craving to experience.
• I am creative and abundant, my only competition is myself.
• Wealth and riches are obtained easily and effortlessly.
• I am responsible and have a responsibility to produce and influence.
• There is no separation between my life and my work. My life is my work, my work is my life.
• I am able to help others in amazing ways and be highly compensated for it.
• Nothing is struggling, nor am I.

The harsh reality is most never step outside their comfort zone to write their own manual. Our society has gotten into the habit of defining themselves by how well they are following the traditional manual.

We all were born into this world innocent and ignorant. It will be the rare few who will choose opt out of the traditional life manual and produce more value in the world than they ask for in return.

They are the influencers of the world. The rest will follow.  

Please leave a comment and share how you are opting out and creating your own manual.

The Wall Street Journal published an article in May which revealed a little known secret about the largest banks in the world.

Ok, you’re right. There are a lot of secrets your bank keeps from you, but here is one to add to your “I had no idea” list.  

The secret?

Banks are some of the largest purchasers of permanent life insurance in the world. Bank owned life insurance, or BOLI, is a strategy banks use to fund executive pensions, employee benefits and healthcare costs.

BOLI is used to improve the income statement of the bank and is used for the bank to enjoy tax benefits (yes permanent life insurance is tax-free money), and finally to improve the banks financial stability.

Banks buy permanent life insurance by the truck loads. According to the article, Bank of America currently holds over $17 Billion in BOLI. The ironic part of the strategy is this; the bank is the owner of the life insurance policies, meaning they pay for it, yet they need a real flesh and blood person to be the insurable interest on whose life the policy is based.

Guess who these people are? The employees! The employees have these policies attached to them, yet do not have access to any of the proceeds.

This is not new. Banks have been buying BOLI for many years now. They all do it. Name a bank and they will most likely have BILLIONS in bank owned life insurance. In 2007 author Barry J. Dyke discussed this in his book, “The Pirates of Manhattan.”

In his book, Dyke states, “Banks own so much (life insurance) that the cash values on their balance sheets actually make them look like life insurance companies unto themselves.” He goes on to explain that “banks buy such a great deal of life insurance because it provides immeasurable economic benefits, financial stability, and safety – which are superior to the banks themselves.”

When was the last time you visited your bank and they talked to you about making sure you have a significant amount of permanent life insurance in your financial plan?

It probably has never happened. Banks do not put their own cash into the investments they sell. Go ask the president of the bank how much of the banks own money is put into IRA’s, stock or mutual funds. Can you guess what he or she will say? None. Why?

The investments that most banks sell to the public are too risky!

The banks do not want to subject their cash to the risk of the market so they stay out. They like life insurance because their cash values are safe; the life insurance company guarantees the principle. What the banks sell their customers and what they do with their own cash are two completely different things.

You know me, I like to go deep. So here is the real secret and sadness behind this story. Banks understand the value of human capital. They see the human value in their employees, especially the top 35% by pay. So much so that they open up huge insurance policies on their employees and stuff them full of cash.

They know if that employee ever dies, there will be a financial impact and they want to re-coup all the money they ever paid out to the employees via pensions or other benefits.

If a bank just put their money in a mutual fund and a retired employee dies, the bank gets nothing. By owning a life insurance policy on this employee, the bank gets all their money back that they paid out to the retired employee tax-free.

The bank understands the value of the human life but unfortunately most Americans do not.

Most people do not value their own human life, thus they never buy adequate amount of life insurance.

The human life is the number one asset. Banks know this of their employees, yet the employees do not feel the same way about themselves.

Why? According to Dyke, the reason is cost.

Americans do not value their number one asset, themselves, enough to buy as much life insurance as it makes sense.

Learn a lesson from the biggest banks in the world. The human value is the number one asset and life insurance can be a powerful tool for sustainable wealth.

Halloween is a great time for us adults to remember how to dream big. Who, you might ask teaches us to dream big? Our children of course.

Last week my wife and I took our 3 year old son to the book store for a special Halloween story time read by a local Librarian.

This is our first Halloween with a child old enough to really get into the spirit. He picked out his own “Dragonsaurus” costume (don’t ask, it’s some cross breed between a dragon and dinosaur), helped me carve a pumpkin and can’t wait to “twick or tweet.”

The room was full of kids buzzing from the anticipation of the Librarian reading the first book.

Directly in front of me was Spiderman admiring his webbed outfit. Behind him was Superman talking with a princess. Adjacent to them was Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz, and pulling on her hair was a Transformer.

The reading by good ‘ol Librarian was boring at best. Even the kids were off in dream land after the third page. Poor guy was up against an audience with bigger things on their minds.

The highlight for me was watching Superman and Spiderman compare their super powers. Sure Spidey had the webs coming out of his wrist but Superman had the cape. The cape! These two kids were talking as if they were the real super hero.

Watching this made me think. At what point do we as adults stop believing we can be a super hero? Who or what, in our life formed our paradigm to believe we cannot dream big and save the world?

Think about it. What’s the alternative? Dream small? Sure nobody in my life ever told me to dream small but I’ve heard or been told all my life “be realistic.” You can’t be a super hero, there is no such thing.

Says who?

Our children believe they can be whoever they want until us adults tell them they need to “get real.”

Our modern day superhero’s, those who dare to dream big, are cape-less but are influencing the world in similar ways. Our children are a reminder that we need to continue to dream big.

It takes the same amount of energy to dream big as it does to dream small, so put on your tights and cape or dress and magic wand and see yourself as someone who can do some really, really big things to help save the world.

I am a superhero and I am saving the world from financial mediocrity. I am impacting the world by helping others gain maximum production from their “seen” resources such as money and business, and their “unseen” resources such as their own human potential.

I help others increase their understanding of their very own “super powers.”

What about you?

Go ahead and leave a comment below and let others know what kind of superhero you are and how you are impacting the world.

Your comments are appreciated and please share this post if you found it beneficial.

This month marks the beginning of an all new video and audio series of personal interviews I have created with people who I call “Influencers.” These are individuals who are using their creative inner genius to make a profound impact on our society and the live of others.

An Influencer is someone who is:

“producing more value in society or the marketplace than they are asking for in return. They are the people who will be responsible for shaping or influencing the future of humanity.”

In this video and audio series these Influencers will detailing the type impact they are making, how they are doing it, and in what ways their influence will enhance the worldwide human experience.

It will be an incredible learning experience for everyone.  These are people who you can learn from and see first hand how much potential we all have as they are playing a bigger game in life.

My intention is for you to see what they are doing and get excited to explore how much potential you have to also make a difference. I will be sharing with you some of my interviews right here on this blog so you can benefit from the massive value they are producing.

Are you an Influencer? Or do you know of one? If  you would like to join the series and share with others how you too are influencing our society for the benefit of others, please send an email to info@cletuscoffey.com for an application and to schedule an interview.

Stay tuned…..

Just this past week I uploaded a FREE report to my website called, Removing the Scarcity Lens: 7 Proven Secrets For an Abundant Life in Any Economy. 

My intention with this report is to provide valuable education and insight to bring awareness to the masses of the specific principles, rules, and laws that surround money and wealth. 

As I look around I see the majority of people in our society all thinking, believing, and acting the same way with money, yet they all are getting the same mediocre results. These old habits and teachings about money and wealth are not only keeping people in a state of financial mediocrity, they will ultimately prevent almost everyone on this planet from ever achieving financial freedom.

The scary thing is, most people either have no idea they are trapped, or they see their dreams slipping away and are not taking the right action to make a change.

It’s time to become aware and awake to your true potential.

Please take moment and download my free report right here on this website, and you have my permission to invite others to come to here and download a copy and well. I learned early that keeping valuable things such as this to myself is not serving anyone. So please share it with as many people as possible. Let’s start a shift towards more people living their happiest, wealthiest and most prosperous lives.

I need your help! After you read it, come back here and leave a comment for me. Please give some feedback on what value you gained from the report or how it has helped you.

Enjoy the read!

Cletus

What is your work policy? I mean for yourself? What are you willing to sacrifice to find a job you like?

Last Saturday it was 7:00 in the morning and my 3 yr old was bouncing off the walls so I took him to the park to jump, scream and eat bark. We were the only ones there until one by one, Dad’s began rolling up with their little dynmo’s. There were six Dad’s at one point! In addition to the sleep we all had in our eyes, we all were armed with snacks, sippy cups, and snot rags. It was classic as we all made eye contact with each other and murmured the same question, “your wife sleeping in too?” The dynamics of parenting are changing and it’s wonderful to see.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the attitude most have towards living a full life. There was one Dad in particular I was able to talk with at length.

He had noticed I was in shape and asked me what I was training for. I told him about how I like to run. He then proceed to tell me about how he loves to ride bikes competitively but doesn’t have the time anymore to ride. I asked why not. He gave many of the common justification as to why it wasn’t possible.

• I work too much.
• My commute is long.
• I have my hands full with my son.
• I am always tired.

Believe me when I tell you, it was obvious this Dad really enjoyed riding, however I did not feel the same passion when I asked him how he makes money. Here was a very bright man who is limiting himself.  It was clear he felt he didn’t have enough time to do all the things he loved so something had to give.

It does not have to be this way.  We all have a choice as to how we spend our time. It was clear deep down this Dad is missing a piece to his overall happiness. In this scenario it common for someone to resent other things like their job because it is taking time away from what the individual is passionate about. Then ultimately the money that is made is not fully enjoyed because it comes from the job they resent.

Now, the individual feels if they could just start to make more money, it could relieve some of the pressure and free up time. So the individual starts working harder and longer thinking this is the only way to wealth. Now there is strain on the family and the individual is frustrated because he is not able to see his family as much.

Can you start to feel the stress in just reading this? It all happens because of the belief there is not enough time.  The belief we can’t have our cake and eat it too. For some odd reason we have become a society of either/or. For those that struggle with never having enough time, this reality only exists in their own mind.

It’s almost daily I will hear someone express their interest to become a multi millionare. To this I will responsed by expressing how I feel this is a wonderful goal if done for the right reasons.  I would hope everyone would want to be a multi-millionaire. However, my first question to those who desire this goal is, “How many multi-millionaires do you hang out with on a regular basis?”  If it’s greater wealth you want, go hang out with those with the deep pockets. Private clubs are a good place to start.
 

Click here to view the embedded video.

High achievers associate with high achievers. It’s important to surround yourself with those who you aspire to become. If your current friends are not going your direction, it’s time to cut bait.

Our world has been transformed by many key discoveries. Findings such as fire, the world being round, the Earth revolving around the sun, electricity, and the knowledge to create the Internet, are a few profound discoveries that have allowed us to evolve and grow as human beings.

Over the past four years I have been on a journey to increase my understanding of my own world, the world of Me. Although I haven’t even scratched the surface, every day I have been making some subtle and some profound discoveries about myself. It wasn’t until recently however, that I found fire, meaning I have made a profound discovery that will change my world forever.

Despite being an accomplished husband, father, son, brother, student, athlete, business man, I was unaware I have been standing in the way of my own success. I have been working so hard to bring incredible value to the world, yet something has been missing.

I have done countless hours of reading, learning, studying, research, and practical application. I have designed my own vision, found mentors, been introduced to priceless opportunities, and have been in constant motion, but there is a big hurdle in the way, Me.

During a meditation, I did some looking back into my life to find examples of times where I was completely and totally confident so I could pull from that energy to help me over this hurdle, yet I had trouble finding one. Even though I have had some very successful moments, I have never been truly confident with my actions. This was such a painful discovery. I first began beating myself up over it, wondering what could have been had I been more confident. Then I leveled out to look for opportunities to grow.

I have learned that once you have been awaken to something you are lacking or doubting, you are no longer it. So, I have pushed my pride aside and am now comfortable with the fact that I was not ready to step out of my own way until now. Just writing this blog is a humbling experience. My pride is wanting to pull me back concerned about how I will be percieved. Oh well.

I am confident, and now know, I am no Earthly good holding on to all the knowledge, wisdom and experiences inside of me. I have a responsiblity to share them with others.

Here you go world, I have found my fire and it’s finally my time to share. Like it or not, its who I am. Thank’s for letting me get this off my chest for all to see.