Are You A Drifter, A DIY’er Or A Dynamic When It Comes To Building Wealth?

Transcript

Chris Rodwell: Hi, welcome to Wealth Talk Episode Two. It's Chris Rodwell here joined by Kevin Whelan. Hello Kevin.

Kevin Whelan: Hi, Chris, good to talk to you again.

Chris Rodwell: Yes. Well, we had a lot of fun on episode one, and we covered really what Wealth Builders, how it came about. And one point I want to pick up on is, you mentioned 95% of people who wished to become wealthy, financially independent never make it.

Kevin Whelan: Yeah.

Chris Rodwell: Tell us a bit more about a reasoning behind that Kevin and how you can identify whether you're maybe one of the five percent that will make it.

Kevin Whelan: Ooh, that will be a bit scary. Of course 95% of people don't make it, only five percent do, and the skill in the Wealth Builders is really trying to help more people reach that, but there's a little bit of self-analysis you can do. In the number of years that I've been talking to people and helping them create financial independence for themselves, I've noticed Chris, there are three groups of people. I call them the three D's and it doesn't take me more than about five minutes to work out who you are, and whether you're like to be part of the 95 or part of the five, would you like to know what they are?

Chris Rodwell: Oh, yes please.

Kevin Whelan: They're called the three D's, which is the drifters, which is not the music group by the way. These are people ... The drifters are people who read a lot, think a lot, aspire a lot. They think they would like to be wealthy, and have a feeling they'd love to be wealthy-

Chris Rodwell: We call them the course junkies sometimes.

Kevin Whelan: Right, okay. A lot of shelf-help. We've heard all the jokes about that. But genuinely you can tell that they remain drifting, and have aspirations, but in fact, sadly, while we're joking about it, it is a sad consequence that they simply will remain financially insecure for the rest of their lives and that's a very bad place to be. And I think the main reason for that is they just drift from day to day. This idea of being caught in the rat race, or caught in some tyranny of a daily routine, that they don't allow themselves the time, or are willing to find the time to get the right education, the right support and the right connections to pull this together as a plan. So they'll turn up for their job, they'll go home and instead of taking some time out of their life to be thinking, "Well, how do I create wealth for myself," they'll watch the telly or have a glass of red and forget the world till the next day, and that's pretty much what most people are like.

Kevin Whelan: And one of the ways you can find that out about people is, if you ask them ... One of the questions we always ask is ... For most people my experience Chris, is people can be completely financially independent within about three to seven years. So let's say the average is five years. So the question I often ask people is, "How has your wealth changed from five years ago? What have you done that's made you wealthier five years later? So if you go back five years and you look now, how more wealthy are you than where you were before?" For most people the answer is, they're not wealthier at all. In some cases they've either gone backwards, or they've stayed exactly the same.

Chris Rodwell: In fact, you have almost I would say a catch phrase of "never let a month go by without building your wealth."

Kevin Whelan: Well, exactly right. You don't have to spend too much time, a couple of hours a month is enough time. You'd think two hours a month people could spend, not just to learn something, but the key is the doing. And one of the dangers I think with the drifters is, they want to seek so much information, but they'll act on nothing. So they'll do this course, and then they'll do that course, and they'll do the next course, and they'll do the next course. And instead of stopping after course one to decide whether it's the right thing to do, whether they can see whether they can take action upon, and seek out who else has done that, what did they have to learn, what did they have to do to make this whole process quicker, this concept of connections we talked about in episode one, they won't do that, they'll just do the education piece. And then, "Oh, well I need to know something more now. I need to know the next thing," and they keep going round this sort of intellectual merry-go-round. And of course, merry-go-rounds or roller coasters are great when you're a kid but not as you get older, they make you sick after a while.

Chris Rodwell: So what you're saying really-

Kevin Whelan: That's not a good place.

Chris Rodwell: -- is you need to take responsibility for building your own wealth.

Kevin Whelan: And taking action to do that, and I recommend, if I could Tweet this right now I would Tweet it loud and clear, never let 30 days go by without doing something that's very positive that you know is adding some form of asset, some form of wealth building actions in your life." And of course, during the course of the podcast, we'll be talking more about assets and what those assets are. But obvious things like even just putting a bit more money into the market, looking to see whether you could engage in some property. Maybe doing something on the side to generate income that could reduce your debt. So there's always ways you could something to create more wealth, there's no doubt about that.

Kevin Whelan: If I meet anybody, if they're willing to do it, they will create more wealth every single month. But the drifters will never do that.

Chris Rodwell: Okay.

Kevin Whelan: Recognize some of those Chris?

Chris Rodwell: Yes, yes, indeed. So that moves us into the second D.

Kevin Whelan: Yeah, the second D. Now, there's nothing wrong with the second D, the second D is what I call the DIYers. Now, the DIY’ers are not drifters, they're willing to get their hands dirty, they're willing to get involved and do something, and that's good. But one of the issues with DIY is, there are some things you can DIY, simple things, like I could probably turn my attention and wire a plug, but I wouldn't do my own teeth. So there are some things you should DIY, and some things you should not.

Kevin Whelan: And one of the consequences of the DIYers, is they actually can't get to a place of trust. They don't find anybody that they can truly trust, and they're aren't willing often to make connections, they want to do everything on their own. They live their life almost in a trial and error scenario. And while they can make some progress, and I have to say at the beginning of my wealth building life I was a DIYer. So I didn't have a guide, I didn't have a mentor, I didn't have that opportunity because I was carving my own path. But now having learned the lessons, and it took me seven years ... actually it took me a bit longer than that, but it took me longer to create the wealth that I really wanted because I was trailing ... blazing my own trail, let's say.

Kevin Whelan: I'm what I sometimes I'd call the kind of rugged individual who wants to do everything on their own terms. And what I've learned over the years and now, very enthusiastically teaches you know Chris, is it's much better, faster, enjoyable to work with people and collaborate, hence the connection in the process of education, support and connection. And surrounding yourself with other people just gives you so much energy, and makes it so much quicker.

Kevin Whelan: I'm not saying DIY isn't the solution, and I think we've created some great materials who prefer to do things on their own and learn on their own terms. Nothing wrong with that. What I just happen to feel, and I'm very passionate about connecting is, I think wealth is much more fun when you connect. I have a blast every single day because I'm never, never not connecting people, and that's what give me a joy. But that's the DIYers for you.

Chris Rodwell: Yeah, we're familiar with the term, self-made millionaire.

Kevin Whelan: Right.

Chris Rodwell: Would you suggest that actually there's not too many who make it purely by themselves?

Kevin Whelan: Well, I think in truth there isn't really a self-made millionaire, because ever self-made millionaire has got a team around them doing something. Unless ... Maybe, even if you're a pop star, you've still got backing singers, you've still got a band, you've still got a crew, you've still got all of those things behind you, so I don't think self-made is a good plan. I understand why people might start there just to get their education and maybe be nervous about making connections. What I'm hoping that people will see if they check out Wealth Builders at wealthbuilders.co.uk, that actually there is a community of trusted people, and that you can get to see that it is possible to build wealth and understand that not everybody's trying to make money from you. And there's a real spirit of that collaboration where we are, and you don't have to do it on your own.

Chris Rodwell: And it also ties in very strongly with your personality type, and this is-

Kevin Whelan: Sure.

Chris Rodwell: -- an area we'll discuss in a future episode I'm sure, as to different types of people have different ways of approaching solutions and problems. And whey you find out what your really natural strengths are, you can then identify those right people that you need for your team, your entrepreneurial team.

Kevin Whelan: Oh, absolutely right, and I suppose that leads us quite nicely actually Chris, into the third D, which I call the Dynamics. And the Dynamic people ... When you think of Dynamo, you think of energy, and you think of kind of a multi aspect to it. So the dynamics of those people who are bringing in multiple ROI's. So here's another piece of wealth building language we might need to debunk.

Kevin Whelan: So the concept of ROI, which most people will have heard of in the-

Chris Rodwell: You would think a Return on Investment.

Kevin Whelan: Return on Investment, absolutely right. And Return on Investment is an important ingredient in any aspect of trying to create, what's the return on the activity that you're doing, and that's important.

Kevin Whelan: So in addition to Return on Investment Chris, it's really quite important to as well understand risk, because there's no point taking two steps forward and one step back and that can happen. But one of the important ingredients in our process, is the due diligence step, and trying to work out what's the downside risk and how do you mitigate that risk. And often the mitigation of risk can only be really truly dealt with by looking through the eyes of other people, because when you're ... if you're an accountant you see risk in a different way than if you're an entrepreneur where all you can think of is the creative solution. So it's really important that, that's part of the overall process.

Kevin Whelan: But the two that I like more than any other, because I'm much more of a connected sort of person as you know, is a return on intellect. Which means, you become smarter, you become a wiser person by engaging. And what I mean by that is, instead of just making an investment in something you don't really understand, by getting a return on your intellect then you're learning more, not just about the investment, or the asset or the way you're building wealth, but also more about yourself. You become a smarter, wiser person as a result of that. You're building capability that allows you to move from one level to the next.

Kevin Whelan: So if you think about stock market for example, if you invest money in the stock market, the following ... and you get a statement every six months, when you get your six monthly statement, are you any wiser than you were six months ago, or do you just respond to the valuation, whether it's up or down? In the wealth building community you can absolutely, demonstrably measure an increase in your capability because you're moving level, by level, by level up the five different levels of wealth that we'll share I guess next time?

Chris Rodwell: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Kevin Whelan: Yeah, sure. Five levels of wealth, let's make a note to do that next time.

Chris Rodwell: Yeah, yeah.

Kevin Whelan: So the ROI of Return on Intellect is really a key one. And the one that gives me a buzz is, Return on Interaction. And what I mean by that is, just enjoying money. Enjoying the connection you have with other people as you see people teaching you things, you teaching other people things, sometimes actually joining forces with others as well. It's just a fun place to be for those who want to do that. And while I recognize that's not for everyone, I think there's definitely an aspect of enjoying what you with money. And enjoying building your wealth, rather than just simply parking it and not really feeling like A, you're in control, so you're not in control of your return of your investment, but also you're not really enjoying it. Again you just get a statement, not too much enjoyment.

Kevin Whelan: One of the things I notice about people with statements is, they just tend to file them. Whether they're in filing cabinets, or draws, or wherever they end up, they're really not part of anybody's enjoyment.

Chris Rodwell: And that's the key part of Wealth Builders, isn't it? It's about really enjoying the process of wealth building and making it a collaborative process as well, and something that is dynamic, as you've just said, which is the fact A.

Kevin Whelan: Exactly. Even if that collaboration is an [inaudible 00:13:37] one just within your own family, it's husband and wife connecting and sharing things. And of course, in order to do that really well Chris, as you know, we encourage the use of a tool called Wealth Dynamics. And again, more of that probably on another podcast.

Chris Rodwell: We can do a whole episode on Wealth Dynamics, and we will do it very soon.

Kevin Whelan: Well, let's do that, because Wealth Dynamics is a fascinating area which helps you discover what your natural flow of building your wealth is. And as we know, wealth is a process of flow, wealth is money flowing from the creation of value. So you have to know yourself to know what makes you feel like you're really enjoying it. You can tell as we're talking, my flow is in connection, right? Somebody else's flow might be something else. So you have to find your own flow, and that tool helps you identify that, and therefore you find your path that's unique to you. So while we talked in episode one, there's a seven step process, or there's a step by step process, the steps are not the same for everyone.

Chris Rodwell: Yeah. So in summary then for episode two, the three D's. For someone listening right now who's trying to figure out, "Where am I then? Am I drifting at the moment, and if I am drifting how do I move up to the next stage?"

Kevin Whelan: Well, if you're drifting and you that you're going to continue to drift, tune out. Don't listen to episode three because it will be pointless. But if you want to take the first step, just have a look at the website wealthbuilders.co.uk and tune into some of the things that we're doing, and trying to see if there's some tools and techniques we can give you to help yourself. So become a DIYer, but do something. The whole thing about DIY is doing, not just learning. So if you're willing to do something, we'll give you some things to do, some tasks that you can carry out for yourself all on the website that will allow you to make some positive progress. And then when you're ready to know more, you can find out little bit more about what dynamics, and how to be a dynamic person where you're in control and in charge of your wealth, and you'll get there faster. So check us out.

Chris Rodwell: And we'll be talking about turning the wheel in future episodes, but really all we're asking now is that you turn the key to open the door, because beyond that you'll find the next opportunity, and that's really how the wealth building process goes, isn't it? Just taking that one step at a time, learning a little bit more, and it opens up connections and new ideas which accelerate the journey.

Kevin Whelan: Absolutely. And one final point actually. I've just realized that there's an ROI that I think is entirely appropriate on which to end this, and it's not Return on Investment, it's not Return of Investment, it's not the return on Intellect or the Return on Interaction, it's not-

Chris Rodwell: It's the [crosstalk 00:16:15].

Kevin Whelan: The final one is you're never more than one relationship, opportunity or idea. So that's an interesting ROI, Relationship, Opportunity, or Idea away from a complete transformation in your wealth. So be curious out there, seek out that one relationship, that one opportunity, that one idea because that can escalate you up several steps at once. And I hope for a few people Chris, that we might be that [crosstalk 00:16:43].

Chris Rodwell: Oh, you've dropped a bomb, have you there. That's a good one to leave people on, thanks for that one Kevin.

Kevin Whelan: Okay.

Chris Rodwell: I really enjoyed this episode.

Kevin Whelan: Yeah. Look forward to episode three.

Chris Rodwell: Yeah, and we're going to touch the five levels, and knowing your why, and knowing your number.

Kevin Whelan: Knowing your number, that's a good one.

Chris Rodwell: Really important. Okay, we'll see you again soon.