Mikael Rieck is the author of more than hundred articles on topics of how to make money both online and offline. He has been online since 1999 and has always had a passion for money making opportunities and teaching others how to make a profit.Retire at 55 – Tip #2 – Make More Money
This is the second post in the series of tips that can help you retire early or at least at age 55 (which is the age that most people are trying to retire at). If you missed the first post you can find it here: Retire at 55 – Tip #1 – Start NOW.
Now that you know that you need to start doing something I would like to give you an obvious but rarely used idea. Here it is:
Start making more money!
I know this sounds simple and that it makes total sense that you will be able to retire earlier if you make more money because if you make more money you are able to save more for retirement. But despite the fact that this is both simple and obvious most people don’t do it.
The reasons for this are many but bottom line is that they are all excuses. People come up with so many excuses for not making more money (even though they want to) and most have been making these excuses to themselves for so long that they now believe that it is facts and not excuses.
Time Is Not an Obstacle
One of the most common excuses is that they do not have enough time. Heck… I’ve made that excuse myself a million times. 
The fact is that everyone has an equal amount of time in a day. 24 hours is what we have but the difference is in how we spend them.
Some will want to sleep 10 hours a day or watch television for hours a day or read novels or play computer games (PS3 / Wii / Xbox) or…. You get the point. All of these things might be fun and you probably enjoy them but never the less they are using up the time that you are using as an excuse for not being able to make more money. True?
Does this mean that you can’t watch TV, play games, read novels etc.? Not at all! You can do whatever you like. The point is merely that you should not use lack of time as an excuse but instead be honest with yourself and acknowledge that you find watching TV or sleeping more important than being able to retire early by making more money.
Using “How” As an Excuse
Okay so let us assume that you are not amongst those that say that they do not have the time to make more money or that you are willing to stop doing the fun (but unproductive) things and are ready to make things happen. Next excuse might be that you do not know HOW to make more money.
To that I can only say: ARE YOU KIDDING ME??
Look at the picture below and tell me that the problem is a lack of solutions to the “how”:
190 million hits in Google. I am sure that you can find one that will fit your needs!
I am not hearing you come up with another excuse like “how do I know which one to choose?” do I? Stop making more excuses and start doing something. Learning how to make more money will not only help you to be able to retire early but it will also help you avoid financial struggle because you will now know that you are able to start making more money if you need to.
To Your Success,
Mikael
P.S. If you haven’t subscribed to my RSS feed make sure to do so know. The next tip I will share with you can help you immensely.
26 Responses so far
Manshu
August 1st, 2009
11:08 pm
I think a lot of ppl don’t end up *starting” to make money online because it looks like they will get pennies for their efforts. What they don’t realize is how much the real potential can be, if they keep at it. That to me then is the real problem. A kind of ignorance of the true potential.
.-= Manshu´s last blog ..Interesting Reads 1st August 2009 =-.
Mikael
August 1st, 2009
11:24 pm
Well actually I was talking about making more money in general. It doesn’t have to be online.
But I agree with you that most people either don’t get the huge potential or they might get it but they are too lazy to actually do something about it. Because we can only agree that it requires hard consistent work.
Nicolas Prudhon from SEO Help
August 4th, 2009
12:44 pm
Hi Mikael,
I somehow missed out that post… I also have seen many people who don’t think they deserve more money in the first place.
Again this have a lot to do with mind conditioning…
Most of the people have a job where they are attributed a level and a position with a matching salary. This becomes the value they give themselves.
The idea of more money is enjoyable but to many is also something they don’t believe in.
Talk to someone making $500 to get $10,000 his reaction will be impossible, anyway that’s way too much money! I too at first had a hard time thinking like that, but I went a level where if I had to start a business with partners and we look at the income, if we can’t get at least $10-20,000 per month out of it each net, we think that it’s too small money.
We create a lot of fears that stop us from achieving greatness. The first time I walked into a 4* hotel I was like crazy and shy feeling that everybody was staring at me… that wasn’t true. I go to 5* regularly like I would enter a Mc Donald, I don’t care and nobody cares either. There’s nothing to it, it was all in my mind.
All too often its the same for business. Like you said, it’s just so easy to say I don’t know how to do it!
.-= Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..How To Create Your Own RSS Feed? =-.
Mikael
August 4th, 2009
8:08 pm
And that is why I believe in doing whatever you can to be around people doing the very thing that you’re having a hard time imagining. I have to admit that I have a personal limit at around $20,000 per month. It is not like an “unbelievable” amount but I have a hard time envisioning it.
But when I read blogs and attend forums I can see that there are people considering this peanuts. I recently attended a seminar where the guy having it had decided to let an online business “go” because it was only making him $45k a month and it was “wasting his time”.
Does are the people that I want to be around because they will help me see myself doing it
Just like when Robert Kiyosaki says he wants to be around billionaires *lol*
Nicolas Prudhon from SEO Help
August 5th, 2009
12:07 pm
Hi Mikael,
Honestly, even at my level, I wouldn’t consider 45K/month wasting my time… (if you are talking about net income)
The funny thing is I really tried to get more and more things, bigger and bigger my whole life, but in the end settle for a rather simple life.
(Ok, my concept of “simple” is questionable it seems, many of my friends don’t find me so “simple” even though I think I am.)
.-= Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..Who Should Do Your SEO/SEM Work? – Part 1/3 =-.
Blogsnd from Make Money
August 5th, 2009
4:55 pm
Making money online is all about time management. Those people giving excuse don’t really know how to manage their time. As you said, there are only 24 hours in a day. If someone manages their time properly, they would be able to make money online.
.-= Make Money´s last blog ..Is There Any Number 1 Way to Make Money Online? =-.
Mikael
August 5th, 2009
5:00 pm
I think he was talking net income
I can see why 45k would feel like a waste of time if you make a lot more doing other things. It is all a matter of the person’s perspective.
It is funny that you say you live a “simple” life but from what I see you are still trying to become more (which is GOOD). Now you have just changed your view from money to something you find to be greater than money (like helping others and feeling good about it). I think that is a very common path once people hit a certain level of income/wealth.
Nicolas Prudhon from SEO Help
August 5th, 2009
6:03 pm
Hi Mikael,
Well you know simple life, I have a wife, a house (actually more than one…), a car. I like to go out to eat. This is why I call this “simple” life.
Now, I like good things, and yes, I don’t have a cheap car or small houses, when I eat it’s usually expensive, etc… So simple is subjective…
That being said, what you mentioned is very true, I actually have found and experienced different stages in my financial life:
1) You don’t have money but dream to have a lot.
2) You start having money but want more to get big “things”.
3) You are having money and you waste most of it in useless stuff and to show off.
4) You have even more money and suddenly you don’t care so much about showing off and you are more careful about what you do with your money.
5) You have even more, but then you start to re-appreciate simple things in life that you forgot about in step 3…
Anyway for what you said at the end, like Jim Rohn said, the 12th pillar of success is leaving a legacy!
.-= Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..Who Should Do Your SEO/SEM Work? – Part 1/3 =-.
Mikael
August 5th, 2009
6:26 pm
That book is so cool. I think I want a plate like that on my wall too
The funny thing is that I already have the plans for step 5, but so far I am only at step 2 (and hoping to skip step 3).
Jim, Zig, Denis and the rest have place some serious mind twists on me (and I am glad that they did).
Nicolas Prudhon from SEO Help
August 5th, 2009
6:36 pm
You know, I have thought a lot about that (skipping step 3), but in essence, I think it’s a necessary step.
Unless you engage in this “depraving” behavior (even if it’s for a short while,… OK, I know some people never get out of it…) I feel that something will be lacking in your life and you’ll never really be satisfied until you have wasted a sufficient amount of money to be able to say: “Ok, now that enough.”
It may sounds strange considering my age, but I would say that I have done all what I wanted to do, and had all what I really wanted to have, exception for my current dream of “living happily ever after…”
.-= Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..Who Should Do Your SEO/SEM Work? – Part 1/3 =-.
Mikael
August 5th, 2009
6:48 pm
I’m sure you’re right and I am sure I’ll enjoy the step while it lasts.
Now I know that you say that you have done all that you wanted to do but I don’t really think I believe you. At least not if I look at the way you do things. If I am mistaken I would recommend that you go watch “The Bucket List” with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Super cool movie.
I think that having done EVERYTHING you want and having nothing left is actually a bad thing. I would personally never hope that I ever will stop dreaming and stop wanting to do or see something more.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t be fulfilled at the same time, because you certainly can!
Nicolas Prudhon from SEO Help
August 5th, 2009
6:56 pm
Saddly, a couple of years ago, I fell down in that trap indeed, and was almost ready to give up on life because everything became meaningless for me, and worst about it it happens about the same time my wife and daughters passed away…
Trust me, there’s nothing more sad that being young, rich, alone, and surrounded by “friends” after your money.
Like I said, I now have one more thing that keeps me going , and that’s really leaving happily, a trouble free life with my new wife.
.-= Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..Who Should Do Your SEO/SEM Work? – Part 1/3 =-.
Mikael
August 5th, 2009
8:04 pm
Well I can pretend to ever know what you must have felt like and whatever works for you is great. But I still don’t believe that there is nothing you want to have, see or do
Nicolas Prudhon from SEO Help
August 5th, 2009
8:09 pm
I think what matters and makes all the difference is not what you want or desire, but rather its purpose.
When you loose (or your action) purpose, everything else is meaningless, on the other hand, once you have a clearly defined purpose, it’s an entire different story!
.-= Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..How To Create Your Own RSS Feed? =-.
Mikael
August 5th, 2009
8:14 pm
Okay, then I think we agree after all. So what you’re saying is just that it is not the “what” but rather the “why” that is important?
If that is so I fully agree. But being at step 2 I guess I still speak in more materialistic terms
Nicolas Prudhon from SEO Help
August 6th, 2009
2:37 am
Hi Mikael,
Absolutely! And trust me no matter how hard you try to control yourself, when you are going to have a lot (and I mean a lot) of money, you are going to indulge in things that are beyond reasoning despite how hard you tried to focus your mind.
You are going to loose a lot of money too at that time, but you’ll fulfill also a lot of crazy dreams and desires, but like I said, one day you’ll wake up and say:”That’s enough”
Then you’ll start again working even harder and more serious, and this time, you won’t become rich like you did the first time in step 3, this time you’ll become wealthy!
.-= Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..Who Should Do Your SEO/SEM Work? – Part 1/3 =-.
daniel
August 8th, 2009
10:41 am
Okay, then I think we agree after all. So what you’re saying is just that it is not the “what” but rather the “why” that is important?
Ion
August 9th, 2009
2:11 pm
Hi,
Step 3 mentioned by Nicolas seems more like a reward after passing steps 1 and 2. It is more like a rest for the next two steps which are much bigger.
Step 3 you is the place where you make a choice for you. If you like this lifestyle you may stay at step 3, if not you can go further achieving other steps.
Peter from Home Business Blog
August 10th, 2009
8:39 am
Hi Mikael,
Well I could relate to this. I’m a full time banker and a part time blogger and I gave up TV and almost everything else I had spent many hours on too. But if there is one quote that I took along this “journey” it will be this:
“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way; If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”
Peter Lee
.-= Home Business Blog´s last blog ..Link Building: Taking Backlink Building To A Higher Level =-.
Mikael
August 10th, 2009
8:59 am
Hi Peter,
That is an excellent quote. Even though I’ve heard a lot of quotes that one was new to me.
When I think of it don’t you think that you could use that quote as an excuse as well? You could end up saying that “I guess I don’t really want anything so it is okay that I don’t do anything”?
/Mikael
BTW, please use your name and a “@” and then the keyword when commenting. It makes it looks less spammy and you’ll still get the same result
Nicolas Prudhon from SEO Help
August 10th, 2009
11:45 am
@Ion,
Indirectly yes, you could call this a “reward” for your hard work, it’s the moment you get loose and crazy…
However, if you are not careful enough, this is also the moment where you head back to where you started much faster than you may imagine (I know it happened to me before).
But nonetheless it’s a moment where you do things that are special and meaningful to you AT THAT TIME (more often than not, you’ll find them stupid later on…); if you used to fly in economic class, this is the moment where you hit the first class ticket at 6 times the cost of the previous one, and even if you don’t do it again, you can say “I did it!”, just like many other experiences.
Mikael
August 10th, 2009
12:14 pm
@Nicolas,
But even if you “spend it all”, you’ll still have the knowledge and skills that brought you there and one would assume that you would have an easier time getting back on your feet.
Couldn’t you argue that flying on 1st class might have some business advantages just like playing golf in the right country club? Kinda like picking your peer group?
Nicolas Prudhon from SEO Help
August 10th, 2009
12:22 pm
That’s right Mikael, but as far as possible I hope that you can realize it before reaching the spend it all limit…
But what you said is true, assuming the money you just spend was the result of your hard work and increased knowledge, and not from “easy free money” (lottery, inheritance, insurance, etc…)
Actually, I like to fly in business class. I find that first class is too expensive in the sense that I don’t see much difference in value compare to first class beside saying “I’m flying in first class”, especially considering that there’s more and more business/first cabins now in air planes.
Anyway, what I wanted to say is that I do find a business value indeed flying in business class rather than economic beyond saying “I’m in business class”… When I do a long flight, like 10 hours or more, when I fly in economic, I reach tired, broken and need 1-2 days to compensate the jet lag… while when I fly in business class, I usually reach ready to work fully operational, and to me, that’s worth the extra money I need to pay.
.-= Nicolas Prudhon@SEO Help´s last blog ..Who Should Do Your SEO/SEM Work? Part 3/3 =-.
Mikael
August 10th, 2009
12:36 pm
I’m sure you’re right. I’m still too cheap to fly business class but I can easily imagine the difference between 10 hours in the lousy coach chairs and 10 hours in those luxury chairs
Mikael
August 12th, 2009
6:05 pm
@Blogsnd, I’m sorry but your post was caught in the spam filter. It is true that it is a matter of time management. If you spend time in the wrong way you’ll the wrong results.
Mel from How to Get Rid of Debt
November 29th, 2009
5:30 am
I think a lot of peoples’ issue with figuring out how to make money, and particularly how to make money online, is not that there is a lack of information about how to do it. That is certainly not the case, as your screenshot so clearly illustrates. However, finding information that is free, reliable, and easy to understand for someone without a lot of background knowledge can be the real challenge!
.-= Mel@How to Get Rid of Debt´s last blog ..How to Get Rid of Acne =-.
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