Hi Everyone,

Sorry about the gap in writing to you... It's been almost two weeks!

The boys have been really keeping me on my toes. They are 3 months 2 weeks today. They are holding their heads up and really starting to have personalities all their own. It amazes me every day.

Today I want to share with you 8 specific ideas to help you increase your wealth.

The ideas are all around the theme of how your current level of wealth building (Level One, Level Two, Level Three) specifically impacts your investment focus.

This is especially important given all the turmoil economically of late because the misidentification of the right focus for all your investments can cost you big.

Before I dive into these 8 tips I want to share a last chance opportunity for THREE of you...

Three Seats Left for Creating Wealth Workshop!

Yes you heard me right... we are almost sold out. Normally seats are $7,500 but these final three seats have been reduced to just $3,997. (This is a limited offer on the final three seats ONLY and will not be extended for any reason.)

This brand new workshop designed to help you strategically control, manage, and invest your net worth to grow your wealth, increase your passive residual income, and attain your goal of Level Three.

You'll learn how to strategically look at your financial starting point and strategically invest your net worth across a portfolio of investments.

You'll learn how to know what the right choices for your money is, and why. No more hoping or guessing. Instead you'll have a highly focused, completely personalized, custom designed plan that fits your personal situation.

In fact, you'll leave the workshop with a clear Wealth Map™ that lays out your financial plan step-by-step. More than that, you'll have a clear, written list of your personal investing criteria and a quarterly process for reviewing your portfolio's performance.

What's more, you'll learn how to actually use your own investing criteria to do your investing more safely (and how to do your due diligence and protect yourself on any kind of deal.)

Please hurry, the workshop is May 15-17th!

To register and claim these final three seats just follow this link right now. (First come, first served!)

Now on to those 8 wealth tips...

Wealth Tip #1: You must commit to being financially free.

If Level One is all about getting started, then the first step of a Level One wealth builder is to make the definite commitment that he or she will become financially free. The single most common reason that people fail financially is not poor judgment or lack of opportunity, rather it is the failure to make the decision to be financially free.

I am not talking about the wish or the desire to become financially free. I am speaking of the congruent commitment that you will become financially free, no matter what. This means that you both believe it is possible for you to be financially free and that it is a definite goal of yours.

From this point of decision, Level One is about building the rudimentary foundation of financial skills and knowledge so that you can move to Level Two and work to aggressively grow your net worth--intelligently and skillfully.

As a Level One wealth builder there are five specific action steps for you to take (these comprise Wealth Tips 2-6):

Determine how much money it would really cost you each year for you to become financially free. This becomes your first financial freedom target--to generate the passive, residual income you need to meet this cost of living.

Wealth Tip 2. Begin today to invest a definite percentage of your income, no matter how small this initial percentage, for your future financial freedom. The key as a Level One wealth builder is not to become wealthy in one bold move, but rather to congruently make the shift to have a portion of your time, talent, and money invested for your future. There is a saying that where your attention flows, your energy goes, and your result shows. Well, taking a definite percentage of your income off the top to automatically invest for your future is a tangible way to get your attention off of debt and financial struggle, and instead focus on wealth creation.

Wealth Tip 3. Read or listen to financial books and courses for at least 60 minutes three times per week. There are only two ways to learn--by your painful trial and error or by the experiences of other people. Reading and listening to the right financial books and courses lets you benefit from the digested and organized experience of some of the smartest people on the planet in the area of finance and wealth building. Over the past decade I've consistently read or listened to over 100 books and courses each year. I credit this self-education as one of the most significant contributors to my financial success. It will do the same for you if you step up and get busy studying. The best investment you can make as a Level One wealth builder is in your own financial education.

Wealth Tip 4. Find a partner or group to mastermind with as you begin your journey. You have a long road ahead of your to build your wealth. There will be challenges, set-backs, and successes along the way. The key is for you to have a team to turn to so that you will stay the course. Wealth building is a team sport and is much easier to do with the cooperation and active support of a community of other wealth builders. (This is one reason why I hope you'll join me in Atlanta later this month--because of the people you'll meet and be able to network with.)

Wealth Tip 5. Don't make any MAJOR financial commitments until you have both the financial understanding and financial team that can help you intelligently evaluate and execute that investment or business. In other words, as a Level One wealth builder you don't yet have the financial sophistication to make major financial moves. Instead, delay these until you have progressed to Level Two. So how long will it take you to progress from Level One to Level Two in your wealth building? For most people it will take 6-12 months, however if you really apply yourself you can make it in as little as 60-90 days, although this is pushing it.

Wealth Tip #6: When you're Level Two Focus on Aggressively Growing Your Net Worth (and not cash flow yet)

Now that you have a foundation of financial skills and knowledge under your belt, it's time to begin building your wealth in earnest.

At this point “Forced Appreciation” and “Unrealized Gains” are your two best wealth building friends.

Forced appreciation means buying an asset and MAKING it more valuable... either through good negotiation and how you structured the deal... or through upgrading the asset... changing the circumstances of the owner... or repositioning the asset.

Don't invest and hope, invest with a definite plan so you've made your profit when you BUY.

Unrealized gains are when your capital gains are still inside the asset and you haven't had to declare them as a taxable event yet. This radically reduces your Tax Drag™ and accelerates your progress.

Wealth Tip #8: When you're Level Three, focus on converting your Net Worth into passive, residual cash flow, not more non-cash flow, capital gain “growth” deals.

As you build your net worth there will reach a point in time when you need to transition a healthy portion of your focus away from investing or business building for massive equity growth to instead creating passive, residual cash flow. Rarely will you find a business or investment vehicle that gives you forced appreciation, great cash flow, and takes very little of your time.

Usually as a Level Two wealth builder you focus on investments and businesses that give you the first two--forced appreciation and cash flow--but take time and effort on your part.

But once you have the financial strength that a large net worth gives you, it's time to focus some or all (depending on your real goals) to convert that net worth into passive residual cash flow.

This could be done by turning an active business into a true Level Three business. A Level Three business is one which has the team, systems, and outsourced solutions that are capable of having that business thrive without you the owner actively participating in that business.

Or your could make the shift to creating passive, residual income by changing your investment focus to capitalize on the many great cash flow creating investment choices.

When I look back over the past 2-3 years of my personal investing I can see the places where I lost sight of this wealth tip and it really cost me. I moved into illiquid, non-cash flowing capital gain forced appreciation deals when my own investment plan called for a focus on PRI (passive residual income) investments. Why? Quite frankly I got greedy and chased the yield... I let the returns lure me away. Great lessons here that really matter.

Bottom line is that no matter where you are on the Wealth Curve, whether you're at Level One and just getting started, at Level Two and building your asset base in earnest, or at Level Three and investing to enhance your PRI, you need to cultivate the discipline of the correct investment focus to reach your financial goals.

I hope you finish off the week strong and enjoy the weekend.

Remember, for those of you who want to save $3,500 and grab one or more of the final three seats to the Creating Wealth workshop on May 15th-17th take action now. This is the ONLY time this year that we'll be offering this workshop, and it's our best one for how to be a better, savvier, and more successful passive investor.

Sincerely,

David Finkel