For the last 18 years I have built a business from the ground up. While I have had a few mentors who meant the world to me, no one handed me anything. I started off with 0 clients and no income at all. I was 100% on my own. The career I had chosen promised a 90% failure rate for people who were in my shoes. Now 18 years later I would never say I am lucky to be in this business. Never. I am NOT lucky. Not even remotely lucky. In fact I would say that I am the opposite of lucky. I am successful because I worked my tail off and I had the talent to do what was required for my clients. My business “made it” because I spent my 20’s and 30’s working, studying, and re-investing back into my business and myself. I knew that where I wanted to go was more important than where I wanted to be at that moment. Sure, there is a balance to life but while all my friends took easier jobs I decided to defer my enjoyment for a while as I built something that would feed my family and me forever. And I’m not done…not by a long shot. I have 40 years of building in front of me because there is no end zone. There is no finish line and there sure as heck aren’t any shortcuts to success. Do you know what it takes to be successful? Hard work. Sacrifice. Education. To admit you don’t know everything and to look around at those who are absolutely successful in the areas you want to be and to emulate them. What I described above is what I tell people at conferences where I am the main speaker. But it is 100% true of all of you as well. In order to build a successful financial future for you and your family you need to apply all of the lessons of a successful businessman. The most important of which is hard work. The second of which is to surround yourself with successful people. There are NO shortcuts to building wealth and security. It means passing up that $80,000 pool until you are saving at least 20% of your income into things that are liquid. It means buying insurance to protect your family in case something bad happens. It means understanding that you can’t have everything you want at the moment you want it. Some things just have to wait. Folks, there is no finish line. Retirement is not the “end zone”…it’s just the phase in your life where you have no more paychecks. If you truly want to have an amazing life where your financial concerns are all cared for, then there are no shortcuts. You need to put in the work.