By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

I have a few friends who have "silly" wealth – more wealth than they could ever need or spend.

These guys are at retirement age or older... But for some reason, they work harder than just about anyone else I know...

Why are they working so hard? Isn't the dream to "bank" enough money so you don't have to work?

I called a few of these friends and asked why. The answers were interesting...

One wealthy friend started out with this story to explain it...

I had dinner with an extremely wealthy guy last week who's 71. He just retired to the desert in Palm Springs, supposedly to play some golf. I asked him how it was going...

"Retirement is horrible," he told me. "I do NOT enjoy sitting in the desert doing nothing. I don't have a clue what I'm doing out here. I don't think I can do this. I don't need the money... But I think I'll have to go back to work."

My wealthy friend described the same feeling... "I love what I do," my friend told me. "I don't want to stop."

I asked my friends specifically what it is that keeps them working so hard...

One said, "Nothing in life beats the thrill of coming up with a big idea and making it a reality."

Another said, "I like mentoring younger people... passing on what I do and seeing them succeed at it."

A few more talked about the thrill of a great opportunity and the chance to increase their wealth. "I know there's no economic reason for me to work," one friend told me... "But that doesn't mean I don't like to get paid."

I then asked these friends if they had any advice to help people join them in the "big leagues"...

First, they explained, opportunity doesn't knock. You have to create it. And when opportunity is close by, you have to drop everything and pursue it. The more you make those sacrifices, the better your chances of finding financial success.

Second, if you KNOW MORE than everyone in the room, nobody can take advantage of you... So read a lot. Do more homework than anyone else at the table.

Finally, one friend told me, "Work to the task, not to the reward." Don't wash a car for the $5 payment, for example... Wash a car because that's the task at hand – and do a fantastic job. Then you'll get noticed for your work and have a chance to move up in the world.

So why do these "silly rich" guys still work? And how can you get there, too?

They work because they say it keeps them "alive"...

"If I stop working, I'll die," one of them told me. They believe that finding success is all about recognizing, creating, and seizing opportunities.

You make your own luck, they say, so create opportunities for yourself as best as you can.

If you do that enough times in life, you'll know you're giving yourself a legitimate shot at success... at having the kind of wealth that means you're working because you love to, like my friends, not just working because you have to.

Good investing,

Steve

Further Reading:

"It's a simple thing," Steve writes, "but it could have a dramatic effect over time." Learn more about the Sjuggerud Advantage here: How to Be Dramatically More Productive, Successful, and Wealthy.

"You go to lunch with a colleague. Everything is good. When the waiter puts the bill on the table, the total is $26," Mark Ford writes. What's your next move? See why he says every decision can make you richer or poorer here.

A simple strategy for knowing what to own in your 401(k)...

You need to understand how to manage your investments. And today, we're covering the first of three steps my colleague Dave Eifrig put together for effective long-term investing.

Click here to get immediate access.

If You're So Rich, Why Do You Still Work?

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