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How Money Does, Indeed, Buy Happiness

It turns out that when we spend money on other people, our level of happiness goes up measurably more than when we spend the same money on ourselves. And Tony Robbins advocates that no matter how busy or broke you may be, you have something to offer others.

At the beginning of the year, a friend and mentor of mine, Dave Rich, shared an incredible idea he had implemented with his family. Each Sunday, he would hold a family meeting and each family member would share their gratitude–specifically, one thing that they did for another family member and one thing that another family member did for them. This ensured that each week, the entire family would share their gratitude with one another.

I loved this idea and immediately implemented it. But we went one step further. We had been giving our two young boys an allowance, but at the beginning of the year, we decided to up their allowance so that we could influence what they were doing with their money. Each week, they would divide their allowance into three parts: 1) for spending, 2) for saving, and 3) for giving. In this way, a third of their allowance would teach them to be responsible spenders, another third would show them how saving even a small amount consistently would quickly grow in their bank account, and the final third would allow them to give to the cause of their choice.

Giving thanks and sustaining life. 
This was another wonderful conversation with our children. With so many wonderful charities in need of our support, which should we give to? My grandmother was a life-long supporter of Heifer International. While there are many organizations dedicated to ending hunger and poverty, Heifer International always impressed my grandmother (and me) because it was an organization dedicated to empowering people to change their lives rather than making them dependent on financial subsidies.

But what was particularly impressive to our family was Heifer’s Life Changing Animals Gift Catalogue, which allowed us to choose specific animals we could give to families in need. While we donated in the past as a family, I can’t tell you how happy I was to see my youngest son choose a “Flock of Hope” last month and pay with it from his “giving” account. My oldest son is still saving up for a “Heifer” and has been making great progress.

How money does, indeed, buy happiness.
The point is not what, specifically, you should be giving this year, but the act itself. InMichael Norton’s TED Talk, he demonstrates how money does, indeed, buy happiness–as long as you don’t spend that money on yourself. If you haven’t watched this one, I encourage you to spend the 11 minutes and see the compelling data on “the many ways pro-social spending can benefit you, your work, and (of course) other people.”

It turns out that when we spend money on other people, our level of happiness goes up measurably more than when we spend the same money on ourselves. Think about it. For the amount of money you spend on dinner out, you can substantially reduce and in some cases even end hunger for a family. Which has a more lasting impact on your life?

Another favorite charity of mine is Charity Water. Today, an estimated 663 million people live without clean water. For just $30, you can bring clean water to one person in need. According to their website, “Every $1 invested in improved water supply and sanitation can yield from $4 to $12 for the local economy, depending on the type of project.” We’re now in peak giving season. Between the holidays and the end of the year tax deductions, this is the prime giving season. But what most people don’t realize is how much your gift is helping you, the giver.

The secret to living is giving, says Tony Robbins.
Tony Robbins spends a lot of time speaking about “The Secret to Living Is Giving” at all of his events, his books, and audio materials and I couldn’t agree with him more. From his blog:

No matter how busy or broke you may be, you have something to offer others. So many people miss the opportunity to know that their life makes a difference–but it does. Your life matters–and if you align yourself to be congruent with the truth that you’re here not just to “get” but to give, then other people will feel your authenticity and they will open up to you.

The act of contribution is one of the surefire ways to feel great about yourself. I realize, of course, this is not why people give, but how many miserable givers do you know? People who give willingly of themselves are some of the happiest people I know. It doesn’t have to be money. You can give of your time. My mother-in-law has been working at the Interfaith Nutrition Network (INN) serving the hungry and homeless in Long Island for the past 30 years and she’s one of the happiest and pleasant women I know. She started when she was teaching kindergarten and spent even more time when she retired.

Whether you help your local community or support the needs across the globe, to truly live a full and complete life, make sure you are giving of yourself; especially this holiday season.

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The Three Most Important Decisions You Will Ever Make

I just returned from the Tony Robbins Business Mastery seminar, and what I’m about to share with you will change your life–but only if you take action on it. What has great advice not followed ever done for you? Right, so take the next five minutes to discover some of the greatest insights that, when acted upon, will ensure you are as wealthy and successful as you can possibly imagine.

No. 1: The Most Important Financial Decision You’ll Ever Make
The most important financial decision you’ll ever make is what percentage of your paycheck you will automate toward your retirement (or what I refer to as my Freedom Fund). Statistically, you have not saved nearly enough to be Financially Free. Many of us have fallen victim to the many false beliefs around retirement. Things like:

  • I’m too young to worry about retirement
  • I can’t afford to put money aside now
  • Isn’t that what Social Security is for?
  • My 401(k) and IRA plans will cover my needs
  • I only need to put aside 10X my current salary

Pick up Money: Mastering the Game if you’d like a detailed explanation around why these and many other false beliefs have blinded you to the truth. For now, just know that you have been lured into a false sense of security and, if you’re not careful, you’re going to end up one of those 75-year-old Walmart greeters making minimum wage instead of enjoying your Golden Years.

To ensure you become financially free, take the salary you think you’ll need and multiply it by 20. That’s what you need to put away in order to live off the interest without touching your principle. To get there, you need to make the most important financial decision of your life. What percentage of your current salary do you take off the top and set aside? For me, that number is 25 percent. I know people who live off half their salaries (50 percent) and some who are taking as little as 10 percent.

But regardless of your number, you need to work with your payroll team to automate this so that you NEVER see the money. Set up a separate account and have this amount deducted from your paycheck. Think of this deduction as your wealth tax. It’s what you need to do to ensure your financial freedom. Delaying this decision only hurts you, as you will miss out on the power of compounding (when invested correctly–see No. 2, below).

No. 2: The Most Important Investment Decision You’ll Ever Make
Once you have made the most important financial decision, now it’s time to make the most important investment decision you’ll ever make. What percentage asset allocation will your investments go towards? There are two asset classes: 1) Security oriented investments, and 2) Risk/Growth oriented investments.

The most important investment decision you’ll ever make comes down to how much risk tolerance you have as you look to compound the money you’ve set aside for retirement. Are you 80 percent Security and 20 percent Risk/Growth? Or are you 60/40, 50/50, or some other allocation?

This decision is best made with your fiduciary, who is a registered financial investor. That’s because whatever you believe your risk tolerance is, we’re only human, and it’s one thing to say you can accept losses when it’s not actually happening and totally different when a big chunk of the money you’ve set aside gets wiped out.

If you have a savvy fiduciary, talk to him or her about asymmetric risk. It’s the billionaire’s secret, whereby they get Risk/Growth-like returns with assets that would fall in the Security asset class. The wealthy risk very little and expect substantial returns. Most people risk most of what they have for a small return (which is why we remain, well, NOT wealthy).

No. 3: The Most Important Business Decision You’ll Ever Make
And finally, the most important business decision you’ll ever make is who you will model your success after. Great people building great companies have incredible mentors who have helped them achieve their success. Ask any successful CEO, and he or she will tell you who mentored them. If you want to grow, you need a coach.

If you want to grow massively, you need someone who has already accomplished what you want at a scale 10 to 100 times greater than you’re even dreaming about right now.

Which is why I urge you to sign up for Business Mastery. What other coach do you know who’s created a net worth of over $6 billion dollars and is willing to help you? If you know someone else like that, please contact me immediately. As Tony Robbins says, “Proximity Is Power.” Think about it. If you want to lose weight, do you seek the advice of a person who is obese? No, of course not. You find the person who is an absolute picture of health and vitality, and you model what he or she does.

Not only does Tony Robbins play full out with his time and energy, but he brings in several other successful billionaires who share their formulas for success. This week, I had a one-on-one conversation with Jay Abraham. If you don’t know him, he’s considered one of the top marketing minds of our generation. What’s that worth to my business? We’re talking millions once I implement the sage advice he imparted to me.

But here’s the best part. When you sign up, you have what I consider to be the most incredible money-back guarantee I’ve ever heard. You go to the first day (of a five day event) and if you don’t find insights that day that are worth at least $1 million dollars to your business, you get a full refund, no questions asked.

So yeah, I think this was the right choice for me. I have calculated at least $3 million dollars (this year!) that I will generate from the insights I learned this week, and when I continue to implement these incredible ideas, the ultimate outcome in the next decade will be in the eight or nine figure range.

If you want to be a billionaire, then you need to take massive action. That starts with having a coach who’s already done what you want to accomplish. If you don’t have that, then that’s your first order of business. As Tony Robbins likes to say, “When would NOW be a good time to make that happen?”

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