True Wealth Part 1

“For wealth & success are to be attracted by the person you become…” — Jim Rohn

Part 1

Like many people I spent a good portion of my life reaching for and seeking success. All the while in this search I was viewing wealth and material gain as the means for which I would be judged a success. So, I set out on my journey to amass wealth by working twelve to fourteen hours a day six to seven days a week. After all success, was supposed to be a large paycheck, fancy car, big house and designer clothes. The bottom line after years of trying: I was tired and the process continued to be a lot of work. Even though I had accumulated some real estate as well as some money, I found it was a constant struggle and somehow knew this was not the way the system was supposed to work.

After the accumulation of some of that mentioned above, I was rudely awakened when a eighteen months after selling a multi-faceted business to a couple of friends, a company which I had built from the ground up mind you, this company was found to be in default on commitments to the suppliers WITH MY NAME still on the continuing guarantee. I quickly discovered what continuing guarantee stood for and have not signed a continuing guarantee since however; it was a little late in this case.

On top of this, the main or mother business from which it all started was in trouble. That company was under investigation by the accrediting association and though the company and I were absolved of the allegations the fallout was devastating. Finally, my head sales manager left to start his own business taking all but twenty two percent of my back-log of work. What was overwhelming was that all of this came down at once. I felt like Job in the Old Testament losing everything and sitting on the floor with sack cloth and ashes in a quandary of how and why. My life appeared to be over and I was overcome with tremendous grief. Although I didn’t lose my children, I did have a series of cataclysmic things happen to me taking all, my wife and I had.

Although we already had our home up for sale, we were forced to give all proceeds from the sale to the bonding company who used them to pay off the suppliers with the monies they received not only from our home, but from the other real estate we had as well. They also seized our bank accounts and cleaned them out. To say I was depressed was an understatement.

Although it took a while, I was eventually able to step back and evaluate the situation. I had not previously been able as I was so stunned and dazed by everything. A major part of ‘everything’ was me not being able to understand why it happened; after all what did I do to cause this other than to be a nice guy to a couple of friends? I was not thinking about how I could recover and as a matter of fact did not see or think of how there could be any recovery at all. All I could see was starting all over again from scratch. I was so low it was hard to look up and see bottom.

As previously stated the loss of all the stuff left me numb. For a while I didn’t want to do anything and by that I mean I did not want to do anything at all. I really wanted to stay in the house or, better yet in my room, this way I didn’t have to see or be with any of my family or friends. I was a failure and felt like a failure. I had played the game and lost or so I thought at the time. This was all due to how I felt about myself. The reason I felt this way about myself was because my self-worth was in what I had, NOT WHAT I HAD BECOME.

Therein was the problem for it was my view of what happened that had devastated me. I only saw my self-value in what I had accumulated not in what I had become through the journey or period of accumulating the stuff. Yes, there are those that wind up with a windfall of fortune. These are those that have not earned it or become what it took to keep it. Although I didn’t see it then, that was not me. Jim Rohn said, “The most important question isn’t what is it I am getting? The most important question is, what is it, I am becoming.” Over the years I truly had learned some things and had become knowledgeable and skillful enough to get it back. I just couldn’t see it at the time.

When you can answer the question Jim Rohn asked above, you will recognize that wealth is wrapped up in much more than stuff. It is wrapped up in your ability to stay optimistic through the hard times when it appears there is nothing to be optimistic about. It is wrapped up in your ability to maintain passion and creativity when you are being told it is all but over, and you are staring failure in the face. It is wrapped up in your ability to believe in yourself and the fact you can do it again and do it quicker and easier due to what you have become in the process.

Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…

Respectfully,

Rick Cox