I had the opportunity to speak to the MAP trading group yesterday in Sacramento. These people are serious about trading in the stock market. 40 of their roughly 100 members gathered to participate in 3 hours of discussion regarding how to reduce their taxes. Of the 40, 4 decided to go to the next step of joining our School of Tax Strategy to continue their efforts to reduce their taxes.
These numbers are instructional. Of the 100 members, only 40 of them were willing to spend 3-4 hours learning how to reduce their taxes on their trading income. Of the 40, 4 were willing to spend a couple of hours a month and a few hundred dollars to continue learning how to reduce their taxes. So about 4% of the membership was willing to take serious steps to reduce their taxes, the single biggest expense they have and a potentially huge burden on their trading profits.
Interestingly, these numbers are about average for people who attend seminars. About 5% actually take action. Why is that? I suggest it's because reaching our dreams is hard work. As my friend Greg Habstritt says, “building wealth is simple, but it's not easy.”
How dedicated are we to reaching our dreams? What will we give (see “sacrifice”) in order to win? Robert Kiyosaki explained at the Rich Dad Tuesday meeting recently (go to www.richdad.com to sign up for Rich Dad Insiders to participate via the Web in these meetings) that at any given time, we have a choice between winning and being comfortable.
This really struck me as I was flying home last night. I will admit that I frequently take the comfortable route. What about you? Are you winning? Will you make the extraordinary effort it takes to be the best? Think about Olympic athletes and their mindset. It's all about winning!
Every minute of every day we are making this choice. Just remember that. And here's to winning whatever it is you seek!
When you dedicate yourself to winning, your financial freedom is closer than you think.
Warmest regards,
Tom
