In order to begin building wealth, you must understand the big picture. So, what is the big picture of wealth?
The “elephant in the room” is often stated when people are avoiding a discussion that might be uncomfortable. Finances and wealth are often “the elephants in the room” for many people. But wealth should not be an elephant in the room. In fact, it should be talked about and taught more.
One of my biggest passions is to equip people to know how to build wealth in order to make a difference. That is why Wealthbuilders was founded. The mission of Wealthbuilders is to help people make sense of money in order to make a difference in the world. Although I teach on the many different aspects of wealth building individually, today I want to help you see the big picture of wealth building. I want to talk about “the elephant in the room”.
If this is difficult for you, I understand. I struggled for a long time to understand the big picture of wealth building. I would listen to teaching after teaching hoping to finally see the big picture. But each time I felt like I was standing too close to the elephant and was only able to see part of the animal. I could see the trunk or the tail, but I wasn’t able to see the whole elephant—the big picture!
How does this relate to wealth building? Well, I would hear a teaching on how to become debt-free, and I would put that into the debt-freedom compartment in my brain. Or I would hear a teaching on investing, and I would put that into the investment compartment of my brain. Every time I heard a teaching on some aspect of wealth, I would file it away in a separate compartment. Maybe you do this too.
It was like looking at the trunk of the elephant and saying, “Oh, an elephant is shaped like a hose,” or looking at the side of the elephant and saying, “Oh, an elephant looks like a wall.” The truth is that the elephant is more than a trunk or a side. It’s both of those things plus more. The big picture of an elephant includes the trunk and the side.
The Big Picture of Wealth Building
It is the same with wealth building! The big picture of wealth building includes all the separate parts of wealth. Over many years of experience, discussion, and learning, I was finally able to put all the different aspects of wealth into one solid idea. I call this the Triple X Factor. It gave me a true view of wealth building and I was finally able to see the whole elephant!
What is The Triple X Factor? The Triple X Factor includes 3 levels, which I simply call The First X, The Second X, and the Third X.
The First X
The First X is where many people seem to sit on the wealth building continuum. With First X Income, you work and then you get paid. You use this money for asset-building and living. This is known as “non-leverage income”.
Basically, if you rely on a weekly/biweekly/monthly paycheck to live, then you are at the level of the First X. This is not a bad thing – many people stay here forever – but you don’t want to be one of those people!
The Second X
The Second X is what we call asset income. The point of Second X income is to live off of the income from your assets. This is known as “foundational wealth”. At this point, you would be able to quit the job that you had in the First X – if you wanted – and live off of the income that your assets are creating.
Some popular ways of creating asset income are real estate, stocks, businesses, and more.
The Third X
The Third X goes beyond all of this. The amount of money at this stage of the game is excessive. Basically, it’s beyond what you need and so you can give all of the excess away. What a feeling, right?
To begin wealth building, you must understand the three levels of The Triple X Factor. You need to evaluate where you are financially – the First X, Second X, or Third X. You may even need to discuss “the elephant in the room” with someone close to you. They may be able to point out truth that you cannot see yet.
Where do you lie on the wealth building scale? Are you at The First X, the Second X, or the Third X? Does this big picture view help you understand the wealth building process even more? If you’re interested in learning more about wealth building, check out my book, Money Mastery.
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