While this article may seem obvious and straightforward, there are many individuals who ask me why I do what I do. Before I dive into my motives behind building multiple passive income streams, I want to clearly define what passive income really is. Passive income, as defined by Investopedia.com, is earnings derived from a rental property, limited partnership, or other enterprise in which a person is not actively involved. In layman’s terms, this is making money while you sleep. My reasoning for wanting passive income in my life can be summed up in one word,
Freedom.
Freedom to use my time how I see fit, freedom to be able to take trips around the world while my money works for me, freedom to spend time with my family and friends, and most importantly, freedom to pursue what God put me on this Earth to accomplish. Too many individuals make excuses about why they can’t achieve passive income, but my goal with this article is to list some of the excuses that I hear and follow up with my responses to these objections.
I don’t have the time.
This inquiry is interesting to me because I would argue that time is the most important asset that we have here on Earth. What would be more important than investing time now to multiply your time in the future. Investing in your own financial education will set you on a path to retire with passive income well before the typical “retirement age”. It sounds like you don’t have time to waste.
I am not smart enough to create passive income streams for myself.
I would argue that creating passive income is not a matter of being smart, but a matter of being resourceful and being willing to learn. Being willing to learn can come in 3 different avenues. You can pay for mentorship – This is the fastest track I have seen to becoming an expert in the passive income stream you are looking to master. You must view the joining fee as an investment and not a cost.
You can read books – I have personally read more than 52 books a year for the past 2 years. I have learned more in that time than I ever did attending a college class, a course, or a webinar.
My top four books for creating passive income for yourself
Honey Bee
The Millionaire Fastlane
Tribe Of Millionaires
Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing
You can take action on what it is you are trying to master – This avenue will help you learn the fastest but can be costly when it comes to the learning curve.
People always say that ignorance is bliss, well, I think ignorance is expensive. It will cost you a lifetime of passive income.
Being resourceful comes down to being smart with your existing assets. For me, I typically will not spend on a large purchase, until I find a way to replace the cost with passive income monthly. For example, if I wanted a $100,000 car, I would need to find a way to make 100,000 a month passively before I would allow myself to acquire it.
I am too old; I want to retire.
Retirement is a very interesting word to me. For most people, this means leaving their job and living off social security or what they have in their retirement accounts. To me, this sounds very stressful. I hate the idea of retiring and knowing that all the money I had earned over the past 50 years is supposed to support me for the next 30 without any replenishment, other than social security. I want cash flowing assets that pay me monthly until the day that it will pay my kids the same thing. I also would like to retire before retirement age, and multifamily real estate investing has put me on a fast track
