"Give me a lever long enough
and a fulcrum on which to place it,
and I shall move the world."
-Archimedes (Greek Philosopher)

As a Productivity Consultant, I help my clients not only learn how to do more things with greater efficiency, but also to focus on doing the RIGHT things, based on their values, vision and goals.

The most common desires I hear from my clients include:

1. Investing more free time with family, friends and hobbies.
2. Feeling less stressed – especially as related to unfulfilling work or having enough money to live comfortably now and after retirement.
3. Better health – more sleep, exercise, and a healthier diet.
4. Following a dream to do something that is currently out of reach.
   

In order to assist my clients in fulfilling these desires, we need to address this month’s topic -- leveraging resources. In addition, with all the negative press about job security and dwindling retirement funds, the topic of leverage is very timely.

Before I started my own business in 1995, I was always an hourly or salaried employee. No matter how hard I worked, there was a cap on how many hours I could work or much money I could make. The only way to leverage my financial resources was to invest a portion of my income and hope for a good return on my investments.

When I started my own business, I was excited about having the freedom to set my own hours, vacation when I wanted to, and have more control over how much money I earned. But I did not understand one key element that would make or break my ability to do these things.

My goal was to build a thriving coaching and consulting practice. About six years ago I reached my goal of attracting and working with all the clients I could manage. My calendar was finally full! I was working as I hard as I could, yet the income I generated was not where I wanted it to be. I had assumed that having a full practice would mean that I could generate the take-home pay I desired.

Unfortunately, my assumptions were off. At this point, I was ready to learn about the power of leverage. I was ready to stop trading time for income – something I had also done during the 13 years I had worked for someone else. 

Since developing a greater understanding about the importance of leverage, I have come to understand that everyone who has amassed wealth has not done so through their own labor alone. They’ve either leveraged their time or invested their resources, or both. This year I have worked with several virtual assistants – professionals who assist me by working from their own home offices. I focus on the things that only I can do and I love doing, and I delegate as much of the rest of it as I possibly can so I am leveraging my time. If I tried to do everything myself, I would severely limit my productivity. I have also made some other business decisions that have helped me to leverage my time in significant ways. 

A few months ago I decided that it was time to pay more attention to what I was doing with my investments. The beating my husband and I took with our mutual funds over the past year provided the wake-up call I needed. I had always wanted to invest in real estate (the top 1% of income earners in the world are heavily invested in real estate), but up to this point had not done so because I did not know anything about it.

In December I became a student in a two-year program that is teaching me about real estate investment strategies. My eyes have been opened to a whole realm of possibilities that most people don’t even know are available to them. For the next two years, I am committed to traveling to Phoenix four times a year for a week of classes in which I’m learning about various real estate investment strategies. 

I am also learning how to structure my business to limit my liabilities and minimize my tax burdens. There are all sorts of leverage opportunities with business structure and tax planning! Wow, now I really understand the value of hiring a great CPA/attorney for their advice. That investment will pay for itself many times over! 

After my week of classes in December, I purchased my first investment property and I am very excited about the possibilities with this. Last month I attended my second week-long investment “college,” and I was blown away by all that I learned. Since returning, I have hired an attorney to help me restructure my business so I can take advantage of all the wonderful tax benefits available to me as a business owner.

I have been amazed by the age range and educational backgrounds of the thousands of others who attend these week-long investment colleges. I have met people in their early 20s and people in their late 70s. Attendees have a wide range of educational and career backgrounds. Some are business owners and some have full-time or part-time jobs. I have met people who have previously not had any experience with real estate, as well as seasoned real estate agents, mortgage brokers, contractors, etc. All of us are learning non-traditional strategies that are very exciting. All of us want out of the “rat race” (trading time for dollars). 

Why am I telling you this?

Because I want you to really think about ways you can leverage your time and your resources. It’s so painful to watch all the suffering that people experience when their financial world is shaken to its core. Our educational systems are set up to teach us how to follow the crowd and conform to the standard model of getting a job and trading time for dollars. Most schools do not teach us about how to be creative entrepreneurs, or how to use creative strategies to invest our resources of time, knowledge and money. We certainly are not taught how to legally avoid paying more taxes than necessary. 

I feel so blessed to have my own thriving business and to get up each morning looking forward to doing what I get to do, and getting paid well for it. Very little of my life today resembles the way my life was 16 years ago, when I had a day job I really did not enjoy and was juggling that with the needs of my family. I was trading time for dollars. Today I have leveraged my time and I am learning to leverage my income by wisely investing it and employing sound tax strategies that will save me hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.

What can you do to diversity your income so you are not completely reliant on a boss to provide you with your paycheck? Or, if you have your own business, what can you do to leverage it so you can earn income while sleeping and vacationing, and keep more of it from being swallowed up in taxes? What are you doing to leverage your precious resources?

For most people, staying in the same day job will only slightly increase their income over time. No matter how hard you work, you cannot significantly build wealth until you learn to use some form of leverage. I know, because I was like a hamster on the wheel – working long hours -- until I started learning how to leverage my time, knowledge and money.

If you are interested in learning more about creative ways to make some changes, I encourage you to click the link below. I recorded a 30-minute interview with my attorney and CPA, Mark Kohler.  This interview will really open your eyes to the incredible possibilities that are available to all US citizens. (If you are outside the USA, depending on the laws in your country, you may also be able to utilize some of the strategies Mark mentions, although he specifically references US tax law in the interview.)  

Click HERE to listen to the interview.

(You can also right mouse click on it and Save Target as....)

Are you ready to get out of the rat race by leveraging your time and resources? I’d love to help you see how this can be possible for you!

Please email me at kathy@orgcoach.net and tell me what your next action step will be as a result of something that you learned from this article or my interview with Mark Kohler. I look forward to hearing from you!