money

Creating a Life Plan: 17 ways the rich think differently

02/10/2026 by Roy Sutton

Today I am exploring the idea of creating a life plan.

Creating a Life Plan:

Have you ever thought about creating a life plan, dear reader? If you’re young and have your life ahead of you, certainly, it’s a good idea. You can always let life happen to you, of course, but it’s better if you go out and make life happen the way you’d prefer it to be. And to have a good life, having money certainly helps. So money is at the heart of life planning.

Now, why is it that some people are wealthy and others are not?

You might argue that the rich inherit money, and therefore, they’re just lucky. For a few people, that may be true. However, it’s not a universal truth.

Having wealthy parents helps, no doubt, but there are plenty of examples of self-made millionaires and billionaires. And there are plenty of examples of people who lost all their wealth and then just created another fortune.

There are also plenty of examples of poor people who enjoyed good fortune winning a lottery only to squander their millions within a few short years.

This would suggest that the rich and poor have different philosophies concerning creating a life plan and money as a resource.

17 ways the rich and poor think differently:

The video embedded here explores 17 ways in which rich people and poor people think differently. It’s an interesting video, and it makes some really useful points that will help you in your life planning. It’s informative and well worth a few minutes of your time, in my opinion.

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How serious money is made through self-employment

02/04/2026 by Roy Sutton

Today I thought it would be interesting to consider how serious money is made through self-employment rather than spending your life working as a wage slave.

There are many ways to make money, dear reader, and they all have their merits.

For instance, if you get a job with a big corporation, it’s possible to earn a decent income, and you may enjoy a few fringe benefits too.

And if you get a job in the public sector, the pay may not be as good, but the pension scheme is usually the best you’ll find anywhere. And of course, working for the government is usually a fairly secure form of employment too.

So, if you become a wage slave in any sector, you can make a living, and sometimes that can even be a decent living as well.

However, unless you work on Wall Street or for an investment bank in the City of London, you are unlikely to make a fortune. Unfortunately, dear reader, that’s one of life’s facts.

How serious money is made through self-employment

The road to serious money:

So, if you aim to make serious money, then you should consider self-employment.

And the good news is that we live in an age in which becoming self-employed has never been easier or cheaper. As a result of the Internet, there are so many business opportunities that were simply not available to previous generations.

And the best news is, you don’t even have to give up your day job, not initially anyway.

You can start your own business as a part-time side hustle, initially, and keep it that way until the income your business is generating for you is sufficient for you to live on.

You can even start one business to generate extra cash and as it makes money you can invest that cash into bigger and potentially more profitable opportunities. The possibilities are endless.

The downside of being an employee:

As an employee, you’re trading your time for money and that’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s your preference.

However, if your firm does well, you’re unlikely to benefit significantly from any extra profit they make. You might get a bonus but regardless of personal contribution, it’s more likely to be an incidental sum rather than life-changing money.

With your own business, you can make money whilst you’re sleeping.

If you want to get seriously rich then you’ll have to find ways to start making money while you sleep.

Now dear reader I can hear you asking, but how do you make money while you sleep?

Let me give you some examples of online businesses where you could start with little or no money and start making money while you sleep.

Selling products online:

The Internet provides you with the ability to reach most of the people on the planet, wouldn’t you agree?

Think about that for a second.

If you create a website or an online store then billions of people around the world will have access to it. And those people can access it while you’re asleep.

So the potential is there for you to create something that can be generating money for you 24 hours a day 365 days every year.

Still not convinced? Let me give you some examples of businesses you could start to achieve this goal:-

Selling on Amazon:

If you’ve ever bought anything from Amazon you’ll probably have noticed that Amazon is not always the actual seller of the item you are seeking to purchase. Other suppliers sell their products through Amazon via what is known as Amazon Marketplace.

And when third-party suppliers sell products via Amazon they can also use a service known as Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA).

This means if you are the seller, you deliver your stock of products to Amazon and they’ll handle all the logistics associated with product delivery to the buyer.

Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA):

If you want to sell products but you don’t want to handle the packing, postage, and delivery then you can get Amazon to handle it all for you using FBA.

You can do it yourself of course but the point is that you don’t have to because there’s an easier way.

So you can focus on finding products that will offer solutions to the problems your target customers have and just let Amazon do the rest.

And remember this; those products don’t even have to be new. They can be ‘second-hand‘ or used items too.

Second-hand products:

As long as you can find a suitable niche in second-hand products, there is money to be made.

Let me offer you an example.

Each year graduating students have textbooks to sell. Maybe you’ve had that experience, dear reader?

Essentially such students want to get some cash back for books they’re unlikely to read ever again.

Shrewd entrepreneurs recognize that there’ll be a ready market for those textbooks at the start of the next academic year. New students will want to obtain course textbooks at a better price if they can.

So entrepreneurs offer ‘selling students‘ a quick way to turn their textbooks into a little cash.

And then ‘buying students‘ will be sold those same textbooks at a rate which will save them money on the price for the same book had it been bought new.

You make money and everyone’s a winner.

Set up a website:

The entrepreneurial you can set up a website to attract booksellers and then through Amazon Marketplace the books you’ve bought cheaply can be sold at a profit.

And in that way, you could create a profitable second-hand book business.

You could repeat the same trick with music such as vinyl records and CDs, as well as films on DVD.

Second-hand smartphones, tablet computers, and other technology items offer another entrepreneurial possibility.

And don’t forget there’s demand for second-hand clothes too.

Alternatively, you could source your products, e.g. skincare products, cosmetics, household products, and so on and then sell those via Amazon.

I know plenty of people who have created successful businesses with this approach and from them made good money.

Selling on eBay:

When people sell stuff at a boot sale or yard sale, they usually sell at low prices because they price items for a quick sale.

These are things they need to get rid of as quickly as possible for whatever reason and get whatever they can for them. So, there’s a potential opportunity for those with an entrepreneurial spirit.

You buy these items cheaply and then resell them on eBay for profit.

More importantly, people sometimes sell valuable stuff at boot sales and yard sales for ridiculously low prices because they don’t realize the real value of the item.

On the British television show Flog It, I saw a woman sell an antique vase at auction for £800 having originally bought it at a boot sale for just £1. Now that’s a healthy profit.

Yes, such examples would be the exception but shrewd people can and do make money this way and eBay is a great vehicle for doing so.

Affiliate Marketing:

Affiliate marketing is ‘commission only’ selling.

It works through an idea known as content marketing. The idea is that if you can direct traffic to a product seller’s website which results in a sale then you get paid a commission for that sale.

The amount of commission can be as low as 4% or less from the Amazon Affiliate Program to as much as 75% from some items offered through programs like Clickbank and CJ (Commission Junction, as it was known previously).

The idea is that you create a website in a niche of your choice, generate content on known problems for which people are searching for solutions, and then recommend a product as part of the solution you offer. Then you include an affiliate link to that product and you’ll get a commission every time a sale is made.

How do you achieve this in practice?

Well despite its relatively low commission rates, Amazon offers the easiest opportunity for the beginner. You sign up for the Amazon Affiliate Program and then identify a suitable niche that interests you.

Let’s say that niche is budget-priced sports shoes for women. Now the niche does need to be focused and quite narrow. The category ‘Shoes‘ would be far too wide. You need to think about categories for which people will be searching via Google and other search engines.

Once you decide on a niche, you create a website publishing offering reviews of sports shoes for women.

And remember; those reviews don’t have to be your own necessarily.

They could be a curation of reviews you’ve read elsewhere, summarised with an overall rating based on what others have been saying. In other words, you’ve done the hard work for readers by providing them with a comprehensive summary of all the reviews out there and then providing a convenient link to Amazon so that they can easily make their purchase

Creating a review summary by curating input from other sources is legitimate, as long as you acknowledge the different sources which form the basis of your article.

Why review sites are a good idea:

Review sites work with affiliate marketing because they capture buying intent and that’s important.

If someone searches for a review of an item on Google, there is a strong possibility that they will buy if the reviews are positive.

When producing your review articles the crucial action is to embed affiliate links within the text.

Getting readers to click on those links and taking them to Amazon is how you’ll make money. If they buy within 24 hours of clicking on a link you will get paid a commission.

Amazon commissions vary depending on the number and type of sales for which you are credited each month.

So in choosing a niche, you must think about product value too. Generate low-value sales and you won’t make much. However, sales for items with a bigger price tag can prove very lucrative.

That said generating some low-value sales can be a way of pushing subsequent bigger ticket sales into a higher commission rate. So don’t ignore them completely.

Content Marketing:

Essentially content marketing is publishing web content to promote products and services. Content marketing is closely linked with affiliate marketing but not exclusively so.

There are two types of content you can consider, as follows:-

(1) Written Content:

For instance, if you’re producing regular content and publishing it on your blog then there’s the potential to generate an income through advertising.

Now selling advertising space on your blog or website is only possible if you have substantial traffic.

However, If you’re just starting you will not reach those levels for quite some time.

Nevertheless, what is known as pay-per-click (CPC) advertising could generate money for you right from the start.

Perhaps the best-known CPC program is one offered by Google Adsense. You sign up for this program, then embed Google’s links in your blog and they will insert advertising on your blog that is relevant to your content.

EZOIC is another excellent advertising opportunity for new content marketers and bloggers.

Every time a reader clicks on an advertisement you will get paid and it’s not purchase-dependent. Readers only have to click for you to get paid.

The trick with Adsense and EZOIC is to have a narrow focus for your blog.

Here’s an example. Let’s say your blog is about how to keep chickens and deal with blights like red mite. You’ll attract search-engine-generated traffic from people desperate to deal with the problem of red mite. Google or EZOIC will insert ads from companies offering products that will help with this problem and desperate people are likely to click on those ads to see what’s on offer. They click, and you get paid.

As long as your subject matter is focused and narrow, and ideally based on a highly searched keyword or phrase, then this can be a way to generate decent money. However, the traffic levels to your blog will have an impact on how much money you can reasonably make.

(2) Video Content:

Another way to benefit from Google Adsense is to create your own YouTube channel, produce videos and again insert links from Google so that relevant pay-per-click advertising will appear on and around the video. Again if people click then you get paid.

Write eBooks:

Devices such as the iPad, the Kindle and other eReaders, provide you with the opportunity to self-publish eBooks and sell them through Amazon.

You may not be able to come up with the next Harry Potter work of fiction but there is good money to be made writing ‘How To’ books on just about any subject.

They don’t even need to be that long either.

As little as 50 pages or 8,000 – 10,000 words covering a topic of general interest can be enough to produce something that will sell for one dollar or one pound sterling. That might not seem like a lot but sell 1,000 of them and you’ve made a decent sum of money.

Write something on an evergreen topic and it could sell for years.

If you write several eBooks like this on evergreen topics, that could become a decent income stream.

And what do I mean by evergreen?

These are topics for which people have always looked for solutions. That might be something like tips for good time management, or how to lose weight, and so on.

And even if you’re not an expert you can research the necessary information and pull it together for people. Essentially you will be doing the work for your readers.

And don’t forget, nowadays you also have the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to help you in the form of Gemini and ChatGPT. These are powerful writing aids.

Develop Apps:

If you can learn to write code, and of course, you can learn to write code, then you can also learn how to develop apps. If you can develop a killer app and sell it through the App Store then you can make serious money.

And a great app might attract a corporation to buy it for big money. By way of an example, the app Wordle was sold to the New York Times for more than $1 million. That’s a decent payday, don’t you think?

OK, so you’d love to develop an app but you don’t know where to start, right?

Well, there are endless videos and tutorials on YouTube and from these, you can learn how to code and develop apps.

Yes, there’s some work to be done upfront of course.

However, a good app will generate money for years to come. Just think about apps like Candy Crush Saga.

Produce something that becomes a real fad and there’s serious money to be made.

11 things to bear in mind:

If becoming self-employed appeals to you and you fancy making money as an online entrepreneur then here are 11 things you should bear in mind:-

Know your target customers.
Know your target niche or niches
Know your strengths and interests?
Apply your strengths and interests to serve customers
Recognize that different markets need different strategies.
Make sure you’re capturing buying intent.
Create an image that will appeal to your target audience.
With a website, traffic matters.
Search engine optimization (SEO) will bring traffic.
Getting backlinks from other websites will help with SEO.
Be determined, work hard, and learn as you go.

6 things you must do when you’re self-employed:

(1) Register with the tax authorities: Make money by all means but pay your taxes too. Upsetting the tax authorities is not a good idea dear reader wherever you live. In some countries, tax regimes are more benign than in others but it’s always better to keep the tax authorities happy.

(2) Register for sales taxes and VAT: Again it’s all about paying your dues. If you do well financially then you have an obligation to share some of your wealth with the rest of society. Taxes are the price we pay to live in society and you can’t have a successful business without the society in which you live.

(3) Get a separate business bank account: Keep your business activities separate from your personal life. This is very important.

(4) Keep accurate and up-to-date records: You’ll need these in any dialogue with the tax authorities. You don’t want to end up paying more tax than was necessary. Paying your dues is one thing; overpaying your dues is careless.

(5) Insure your business: When you’re in business, you’re required by law to have certain insurance policies. Exactly which policies you need depends on the nature of your business activities. Make sure you know your obligations and act accordingly.

(6) Keep it simple: In the early days, you don’t want to be spending money you don’t have on things that are initially unnecessary. So keep everything as simple as possible for as long as possible.

Conclusion:

Self-employment can be an attractive proposition and for most people, it is the only way you will ever make a fortune. It’s not easy of course but it can be done and you don’t have to ditch your day job to get started.

With an online business, you can start small and build it up over time. And you can mix and match options. For instance, you can start a website to make money with both affiliate marketing and Google Adsense or EZOIC.

A good review website can become quite profitable and once it’s generating revenues on ‘autopilot’ it can become an asset that you can sell for serious money. There are plenty of examples where such sites have sold for 6 and even 7-figure sums.

Don’t underestimate the challenges of course but it can be done and people do. Why not you?

So, think carefully about how best to exploit the opportunities before you and then have a go.

Good luck and may you be the next Richard Branson.

Did you find this article interesting?

If so, then please share it on social media with your friends. When you share, everyone wins.

So go on, please share it now.

If you do I will be forever grateful and you’ll be helping a keen blogger reach a wider audience.

Thank you.

The real cost of television? The answer will surprise you

02/01/2026 by Roy Sutton

Have you ever considered what the real cost of television is and the effect it has on your life?

When you’ve worked hard all day, I’m sure you find it so easy when you arrive home in the evening to have a bite to eat and then relax in front of the television. You just passively watch whatever’s on offer because it’s your time now, right?

If you’ve worked hard all day, you deserve a rest, surely?

Anyway, you’ve got a nice television, and it cost you a lot of money, right?

So, of course, you want to make the most of it, don’t you?

If you’ve spent all that money, why would you want to waste such a fine piece of technology by not using it? Surely that’s a reasonable argument?

The real cost of television?

Opportunity cost:

Well, it’s an argument, of course, but have you ever given serious thought to the real cost of that television to you?

How much do you think it actually costs?

Now, I’m not referring to the price tag in the store when you purchased your television, though even that’s not insignificant.

I’m referring to the opportunity cost of the time wasted passively watching television.

Never forget, time is money.

And time wasted watching television could have been used doing something that would have been far more profitable for you, at least in the long term.

Deep down, I suspect, in your heart, you know that dear reader, don’t you? Nevertheless, knowing and acting on the knowledge you possess are two different things.

The importance of time:

How often do you hear people say things like, I’d love to earn more money; I’d love to have a better job; I’d love to learn another language; I’d love to learn to play the piano; and so on? Then you’ll hear them say, “If only I had the time.”

Do you recognise yourself anywhere there, dear reader?

The simple fact is that when it comes to time.

We all have the same amount, 168 hours each week. It all comes down to how you choose to use and prioritize your time.

Time is a resource, like any other:

Successful people recognise that time is their most precious resource, and they use it wisely.

People who succeed have a genuine sense of purpose, and they’re very focused on their goals. They know what they want, and they have a plan as to how they’ll get it.

Do you have a genuine sense of purpose, dear reader?

Have you got a clear idea in terms of where you’re going?

Do you know what it is you want out of life?

Life can be better:

Perhaps life is something that’s just happening to you, and you’re just going with the flow?

That’s an acceptable strategy if you’re willing to accept whatever life throws at you.

However, you must ask yourself: Are you really happy with your life and the share of life’s pie you’ve been given so far, or do you want more?

Well, let me tell you this, dear reader. For things to improve, you must first learn to use your time wisely.

Remember: Time is more important than money because you can always get more money, but you can’t get more time.

Secondly, you need a clear sense of direction and your own plan for how you’ll get to where you want to go. Without direction and a plan, you’ll be destined to be used as part of someone else’s plan.

However, that’ll only be for as long as you can serve some useful purpose for them.

Once you no longer serve any purpose for them you’ll cease to be part of their plan. And then you’ll be scratching around looking for another way to earn a living.

The world is an unforgiving place, that’s for sure.

Be a person of value:

Work is just doing stuff for other people in exchange for money.

However, we don’t just get paid for the hour. Our pay is dictated by the value we put into that hour.

The more value we can add the more we’ll earn.

And to add more value we must be increasing our knowledge and skills constantly.

We reap what we sow.

If we fail to reap, we cannot sow.

And how can you reap if you spend your life passively watching television? Time wasted cannot be recovered.

You’ll get out what you put it:

In my experience, we get out of life exactly what we put in. The more we put in the more we’ll get out.

The obvious question is, how can you get more out of life?

If you’re happy to go through life passively watching television but struggling to make a decent living then that’s fine, if that’s what you want. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Waste as much of your time as you like.

However, if you want more than that then it’s time to start designing the life you want and avoiding time-wasters like television.

It’s time to decide where you’re going; and what you want out of life. It’s time to develop your plan for success. And above all, it’s time to stop wasting your time.

You can be a winner. Anybody can.

However, it does require some effort on your part and a clear sense of direction though. That’s a given.

A great source of inspiration:

And if you’re going to be a winner, in addition to using your time wisely, you’ll also need a constant source of inspiration to keep you motivated.

One of my greatest sources of inspiration is the late, great business philosopher Jim Rohn.

You’ll find plenty of videos featuring Jim Rohn on YouTube.

However, you might also consider buying one of Jim Rohn’s books or even an audio recording to listen to in your car or on your smartphone or iPad.

One Jim Rohn book (also available as an audio recording) that I can highly recommend is:

The Art of Exceptional Living.

Check it out on Amazon while it’s fresh in your mind. You won’t regret it.

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To find a job you will love start with these questions

01/31/2026 by Roy Sutton

Would you like to find a job you will love, dear reader?

Most people, if they’re lucky enough to have a job, are in jobs for which they have little or no passion. Well, that’s true in my experience, anyway.

People do whatever they have to do to ensure they have a regular income. It’s a living, but it’s hardly a life, wouldn’t you agree?

Find a job you will love

If you’d like to find a job you’ll love doing, then start by asking yourself some searching questions like these:

Questions to ask yourself:

What activity gives you a genuine buzz?
What activity would you regard as more fun than work?
Do you have a genuine talent for some particular activity?
What activity makes your eyes sparkle with enthusiasm?
What would you do as a hobby if you couldn’t make a living at it?
In which activity would you not have to be asked twice to participate?
In what activity would you be so absorbed that you’d completely lose track of time?
For what activity would you willingly rise early, knowing that this was on your day’s agenda?

Why the answers are important:

The answers to these questions will help you to identify the activity for which you have passion and enthusiasm.

If you can identify a job that consists primarily of activities consistent with the answers to these questions, then the chances are that you’ll have found the job you’ll love to do.

And as the saying goes, find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.

Now, getting that job won’t be that easy, of course.

However, knowing what you really want is the first step on the road to success.

If you have a real talent for your work, then you’re likely to enjoy what you do. If you enjoy what you do, then you’re likely to do it well. Do it well, and people will notice. And once people begin to notice you for the work you do, then your career will start going places, potentially to places beyond your wildest dreams.

Finding a job for which you have a passion really can lead you to success.

So, start reflecting on these questions, and then ask yourself, is what I’m doing now consistent with the answers? A negative conclusion would imply that it’s time to make some changes.

Did you find this article interesting and useful, dear reader?

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Thank you.

How to build wealth from nothing: 5 Top Tips

01/23/2026 by Roy Sutton

There’s nothing you can do about being born poor. If that was the case, then it was just unfortunate. However, you don’t have to go through life remaining poor.

It is possible to build wealth over time, and plenty of people do, frequently from absolutely nothing.

Many people born poor become wealthy through their efforts, and you can too, dear reader.

Here are five tips to help you build wealth from nothing.

How to build wealth from nothing:

1. Pay yourself first:

You can make money relatively easily, but holding on to it can be very hard.

We’re all constantly bombarded with reasons why we should spend our money in return for some fleeting sense of gratification. Would that be an experience you recognize, dear reader?

It doesn’t have to be that way, of course, and rich people know that only too well.

So what do rich people do that’s different from everyone else?

Simple! They always pay themselves first.

And what do I mean by paying yourself first?

I mean, the moment you’re paid, you take a slice off the top of your income immediately and put it away somewhere safe. And by a slice, I mean to say 10%, or more if you can afford it.

And what do I mean by somewhere safe?

Well, initially, that would be depositing your money in an interest-bearing account.

However, once your money starts building into a larger sum then you can start thinking about other forms of investment that’ll potentially give you greater returns. Stocks and bonds, for instance.

Building a capital sum is important because, as your money grows, it starts to generate a second income stream for you. That may not seem important to you now, but it will be as you get older.

So paying yourself first is a discipline to which you must adhere until it becomes a habit you do without thinking.

You must always put some money away, and you must make that money work hard for you. You must grow and protect your investment portfolio with careful diversification, and over time, you’ll find yourself building a sizeable fortune.

So here’s today’s mantra for you: Pay Yourself First. Never forget that, please, dear reader.

2. Be an investor, not a speculator:

You must understand that there’s a big difference between investing and speculation. They’re not the same thing at all.

I don’t wish to imply that there’s something wrong with speculation, though. There isn’t.

In the world of finance, speculation brings liquidity to the market, and therefore it does have its place.

However, speculation tends to operate on the ‘greater fool’ principle.

By that, I mean someone is prepared to buy an asset for a given price in the hope that it can then be sold quickly to someone else, the greater fool, for a greater price.

This is what professional speculators do, and they can make money this way because they know what they’re doing and they have sophisticated systems to support them.

However, for ordinary people, speculation is like gambling in a casino. And you should never invest your money as though you’re gambling in a casino.

You might get lucky occasionally, of course, but over time your losses will outstrip any gains you might make, and almost certainly by a significant margin.

So my recommendation to you, dear reader, is that you should never speculate. Instead, you should focus on becoming an investor.

By investing, I mean buying stocks and shares in solid, well-managed, cash-generative businesses that can pay good dividends on a sustained basis.

Buy stocks worth holding for the long term. This will provide you with a steady income stream from the dividends, regardless of any short-to-medium-term volatility in the market. And spread your risk by building a diversified portfolio.

If you reinvest your dividends, then over time you will find that this approach should give you a good return on your money.

If you want to make money and build capital, then my advice to you, dear reader, is to be an investor, not a speculator.

3. Focus on value, not price:

The legendary investor Warren Buffett once said, “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.”

With this observation, he’s making an important point. There’s a distinction between price and value.

A low price for an asset doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get good value.

And a high price doesn’t automatically mean you will not get value.

Price in itself is not a measure of value. You must consider other factors to judge value.

When you’re buying any financial asset, say stocks and shares, you should always focus on value, and you must establish metrics by which you can adequately judge the intrinsic value of that asset.

Judged in isolation, price is just a number, nothing more.

A lower price means absolutely nothing if you’re getting little or no value in return for your money.

Never, ever forget that it’s the intrinsic value that will determine whether something is worth buying or not.

Get genuine value at the right price, and then you can get a decent return over time from an investment.

4. Create a personal private income:

Much as we all aspire to do work we love, you must never forget, dear reader, that ultimately work is simply a means to an end.

Essentially, work is just doing stuff for other people in exchange for money. In turn, that money is then the fuel on which we run our lives.

Money provides us with the means to put bread on the table, a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and those of our loved ones, of course.

If you work hard enough, you can earn a lot of money.

Manage that money wisely, and you can build capital. Invest that capital intelligently, and you can create your private income streams.

When you have a decent private income in your own right then you can truly pick and choose the work you do.

Then you only have to do what you enjoy doing: that thing that gives you a genuine sense of purpose.

Creating a personal, private income is a worthy goal, and it’s well worth the effort.

That way, you’re in control of your own life, and no one else can dictate what you should and shouldn’t do.

You’ll be in control of the good ship ‘Me’ and only you will decide where it goes.

The message here is, to work hard now, so one day you don’t have to work hard.

5. Never forget what matters most:

It would be very easy to believe that a life filled with lots of money and materiality would make you blissfully happy. Well let me tell you, dear reader, that in isolation, it won’t.

I’m not suggesting that these things are not important but you must get your priorities right.

Yes, of course, go out there and make money. Manage it carefully. Buy nice things and enjoy some of that money too.

However, to be truly happy, you must never lose sight of the most important thing in your life and that is family and friends.

People are social animals; we’re not solitary animals like cats. We need other people and most of all, we need our loved ones. A life filled with loved ones and laughter will be a happy life.

So make time for your loved ones, especially your children. Enjoy their company and make the most of every minute with them.

Never focus on work to the exclusion of your family and friends. Without them, you have nothing. Money is important, of course but people are much more important.

Never lose sight of the people in your life.

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Why an investment in knowledge pays dividends

01/19/2026 by Roy Sutton

Today, I want to explain why an investment in gaining knowledge is important and should be considered seriously.

Investment in knowledge

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. ~Benjamin Franklin

You don’t get paid for the hour; you get paid for the value you put into the hour. Everyone must understand that important distinction, dear reader.

You get paid for the value you add.

The more value you can add, the more you’ll get paid over time.

It’s really that simple.

If you can solve problems for people with the skills you’ve got, then you can earn an excellent living.

The question is, what underpins your skills and your ability to add value? The answer to that question would be knowledge, of course.

Knowledge comes from learning, and learning is a lifelong process.

Learning is an investment

The quote at the top of this post from the venerable Benjamin Franklin reminds us of the importance of learning. Learning is an investment in ourselves.

We all have an enormous capacity to consume and retain knowledge in our heads, and that knowledge is then a currency with which we can trade. The more knowledge we have, the more value we can add.

When it comes to investing, nothing will pay you a better dividend than making sure you have a good education. And I stress that it’s a lifelong process. It doesn’t end when you leave school or college.

And it’s not about whether or not you went to college or university. Important as they may be, learning can be achieved in many ways.

Self-education is the best education

Knowledge can be gained through reading books, listening to audio and video tutorials, and challenging yourself to master anything that appeals to you.

Learning from hands-on experience, making mistakes, and learning the lessons you can take from any mistakes you’ve made.

In particular, if you want to master the game of money and all matters financial, then you need to become a seeker of financial knowledge and know-how.

You need to become a reader and a keen student of finance. To be successful in investing, of course, you need to know what you’re doing. You need financial education.

The price of ignorance

If you think that education is expensive, then think again. The price of ignorance is far greater.

Ignorance can prove to be very costly indeed. And that’s true in every aspect of your life.

Getting an education may seem expensive, but it’s nowhere near as expensive as ignorance.

So, if you’re not already, become a reader.

The investment in yourself is well worth the effort, and it’ll pay you a handsome dividend.

As the late, great Jim Rohn once said:

“Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.”

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How to improve your life quality and have much more

01/11/2026 by Roy Sutton

How to improve your life quality? That’s a question we often ask ourselves when life does not quite meet our expectations.

Embarrassed by circumstances

Have you ever been embarrassed by your limited circumstances?

Consider a situation. Perhaps all your friends were going on a night out, but you couldn’t join them because you simply didn’t have the money.

You wanted to join them, of course, but wealth and financial freedom were nothing but a distant dream for you at the time.

Perhaps you haven’t had that particular experience, but something similar, possibly? The actual situation for you may have been different, but your sense of embarrassment will not have been any less painful and hard to bear, I’m sure.

In one of his audio programs, the late Jim Rohn tells a story about an event that drove him to take a very close look at his life.

A Girl Scout called at Jim’s house one day to sell Girl Scout Cookies as part of an annual fundraiser. In exchange for the cookies, all she asked for was just two dollars.

This was many years ago, of course, but even then, this was not a huge sum of money.

However, Jim’s problem at the time was that he didn’t even have two dollars to spare, so he was reduced to lying to the poor girl. At this point, wealth was something Jim had yet to encounter.

Money does matter

Now, some people will tell you that money doesn’t matter, but it does. In our world today, you can’t live without money any longer than you can live without oxygen or water.

Exactly how much money you need depends on your preferred lifestyle, of course. If you don’t want much out of life, then you’ll get by on very little money.

However, most of us do want more out of life; hence, having at least a degree of wealth does matter.

Wealth and financial freedom

Put simply, wealth means financial freedom.

Financial freedom, in turn, means you can do what you want whenever you want without feeling constrained by your circumstances.

A worthy aim, therefore, is to decide what you want out of life and then start working towards building your wealth.

It all starts with change

Have you ever thought to yourself, I don’t want to live like this anymore?

Perhaps you’ve said to yourself, I want more out of life.

You want more, but the problem is that you have no idea how to change your circumstances, right? If you need a little help, then don’t worry, dear reader; you’re not alone.

However, one thing you must accept is that unless you change, nothing will change.

You must increase your value

Perhaps you look at your salary each month and think, How can I start building wealth when this is all the company pays?

If that’s how you think, then you’ll need to change your philosophy or the way you look at things.

The salary you get may be all the company pays you, but it’s for the value of the contribution you make.

There will be other people who are paid a lot more than you. They’re paid more than you quite simply because they’re considered to be more valuable than you to the company.

I’m not suggesting that you’re not valuable. You are valuable as a father, a mother, a brother, a sister, a friend, or even a colleague.

However, my point reflects your economic value to your employer.

It’s a fact that if you’re in a low-skilled job where there’s an oversupply of potential replacements for your services, then you won’t earn much. That’s simply the economics of supply and demand.

However, just because you’re not more valuable now doesn’t mean you can’t become more valuable.

You can increase your skills with a little effort on your part, and you can become more valuable. Become more valuable, and your income will rise.

So while your circumstances may be limited right now, they don’t have to remain that way.

You can work on yourself and improve yourself. It’s all about self-improvement and personal development.

Success can be yours

Success doesn’t just happen to people. No one just gets lucky.

If you asked the CEO of a multi-national corporation how he or she got to where he or she is today, the response is unlikely to be, “Well, I just showed up for work each day, and they just kept promoting me.”

No, people have worked very hard to get to a lofty position in life. You don’t get anywhere without hard work.

However, you attract success by the person you become, and you really can become more than you are now.

Jim Rohn suggested that profits are better than wages, and he had a point.

Every rags-to-riches story I’ve ever heard always involves someone’s own business. They started their own business, worked very hard, and one day they became very rich.

Build a business

Now you’re probably thinking, I don’t have the money to start my own business, and I can’t afford to give up my job on a whim.

That’s all true, I’m sure, but some people keep their job initially and start their own business as a part-time enterprise.

Jim Rohn himself built his success that way.

Jim began life in modest circumstances, but he went on to become a millionaire and one of the most influential thinkers of our time. And in case you’re wondering, no, he didn’t go to university.

It can be done; people do, and you can too.

Just make up your mind to start working on yourself.

Increase your value and look for opportunities to solve problems for people.

Solving problems is the basis for any business. Every product should solve a problem for consumers.

The psychology of wealth

There’s psychology linked to building wealth, and you would be wise to understand it.

In the embedded video included here, the late Jim Rohn explains the psychology of wealth and provides a lot of sensible advice.

Jim was a successful man by any measure, and it’s always worth listening to people who’ve achieved success. They know what they’re talking about because they’ve been there and done it.

He offers simple messages that are thought-provoking and powerful.

This video is well worth your time, and I recommend it to you. Watch it now while you have the chance.

How to improve your life quality

Recommendations for your library

I think the late Jim Rohn was one of the best motivational speakers I’ve ever heard, and he’s been a big influence on me; that’s for sure.

He’s produced many books, videos, and audio programs over the years, and all of them would add real value to your library.

Two I can strongly recommend you add to your personal reference library are:

Book: Seven Strategies for Wealth & Happiness by Jim Rohn

Audio Program: The Art of Exceptional Living by Jim Rohn

I purchased both of these some time ago, and I still use them constantly as sources of inspiration and motivation.

The audio program is particularly useful, as I listen to it while driving. This means I can use my travel time profitably. Why listen to the radio when you could be listening and learning while you drive?

Purchasing these items represented money well spent for me, and I’ve found them enormously useful. I strongly recommend them to you.

Even if you don’t buy them, they’re certainly worth considering. Go check out Jim Rohn’s books and audio programs now while they’re fresh in your mind.

Check out Jim Rohn on Amazon

Should you make a purchase, you will not regret buying them. I’m very confident in that.

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21 inspirational quotes about money you’ll enjoy

01/08/2026 by Roy Sutton

Today I am exploring inspirational quotes about money.

Now, people may tell you that money’s not important, but after oxygen, few things are more important to sustaining life in the modern age. So we must take good care of our money and use it wisely.

That’s not to say we should be mean or stingy. Quite the contrary; being generous when it’s appropriate is important too.

However, we should not waste money or fritter it away on things we don’t need and will probably never use.

Enjoy your money when you have it, but always put a little away for a rainy day because one day it will rain; of that you can be sure, dear reader.

Build capital over time, and that capital can then generate an income stream for you.

Money can make your life easier, of course, but on its own, it will not make you happy. Never make the mistake of assuming that it will.

Happiness comes from within, and if you’re not happy without money, then having some money is unlikely to improve that situation.

Never chase money for its own sake. The personal cost of being overly acquisitive is likely to be very high indeed.

Make sure you have some balance in your life; then do what you love; do it well, and the money will follow.

And never forget this: money is important, but the people in your life are far more important. You can have all the money in the world, but without people in your life, you have nothing.

Here are 21 inspirational quotes about money to help you reflect on what it really means. Enjoy them all.

Inspirational quotes about money (1-10):

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. ~Milton Friedman
A fool and his money are soon parted. ~Thomas Tusser
Do what you love, and the money will follow. ~Marsha Sinetar
A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money. ~W.C. Fields
I’d like to live as a poor man with lots of money. ~Pablo Picasso
A good reputation is more valuable than money. ~Publilius Syrus
Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons. ~Woody Allen
Never spend your money before you have earned it. ~Thomas Jefferson
There are people who have money and people who are rich. ~Coco Chanel
Money won’t create success, the freedom to make it will. ~Nelson Mandela

Inspirational quotes about money (11-21):

I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive. ~Henry Miller
Anybody who thinks money will make you happy hasn’t got money. ~David Geffen
Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail. ~Kinky Friedman
A wise man should have money in his head but not in his heart. ~Jonathan Swift
That money talks, I’ll not deny, I heard it once: It said, ‘Goodbye’. ~Richard Armour
Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish but it will not replace you as the driver. ~Ayn Rand
Money is a strange business. People who haven’t got it aim for it strongly. People who have are full of troubles. ~Ayrton Senna
When I was young, I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is. ~Oscar Wilde
Money cannot buy peace of mind. It cannot heal ruptured relationships, or build meaning into a life that has none. ~Richard M. DeVos
Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants. ~Benjamin Franklin
Bottom line is, I didn’t return to Apple to make a fortune. I’ve been very lucky in my life and already have one. When I was 25, my net worth was $100 million or so. I decided then that I wasn’t going to let it ruin my life. There’s no way you could ever spend it all, and I don’t view wealth as something that validates my intelligence. ~Steve Jobs

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Daily Habits of Successful People

01/08/2026 by Roy Sutton

If success is your aim, can you learn from the daily habits of successful people?

Certainly, I believe quite strongly that we are what we do daily.

Anything you achieve or don’t achieve is brought about by the habits you develop over time.

Everything you do is a result of your habits, good or bad. So surely it makes sense to develop and maintain good habits and make them your master?

The power of repetition:

Habits, good or bad, are formed through repetition.

Good habits can be hard to form, but they’re easy to live with. Whereas bad habits, whilst easy to form, tend to be very hard to live with. Our lives can become a battle of good habits versus bad habits. Don’t let the bad habits win.

Good habits can be learned, and bad habits can be replaced by good habits. Yes, it requires self-discipline on your part, dear reader, but it can be done, and people do.

Decide on the habits you want to develop and focus on achieving them one at a time.

Start with one good habit:

Start with one good habit you’d like to form and then force yourself to repeat the necessary actions daily.

After around three weeks, that habit will be formed, and it will just become part of your routine. You’ll start to repeat it with little or no thought. Essentially, you’ll do it on autopilot.

If you have a bad habit you wish to replace with a good habit, then each time you find yourself about to perform the actions of the bad habit, stop yourself and perform the actions of the good habit instead. Again, after around three weeks, the good habit will be programmed into your brain.

Self-discipline is key:

Successful people are driven to develop good habits. Self-discipline is the key ingredient for good habits to form and for replacing bad habits.

Successful people also establish the habit of goal setting on a daily basis.

You cannot hit a target unless you can see that target. Setting a goal is the first step in achieving that goal. Successful people are results-oriented.

Successful people are also people-oriented.

The power of helping others:

You get what you want in life by helping other people get what they want.

Every product is a solution to a problem. Even if your goal is to sing or dance, to succeed you must always recognise that you perform to and for people.

They have a need to be entertained and your aim is to fulfil that need. To solve this particular problem for them if you like.

In dealing with people you must be honest and show integrity if you are to win the respect of others.

So honesty is a good habit to develop. Dishonesty and cheating will catch up with you and will be a permanent stain on your reputation. You don’t need that now, do you?

Look after your health:

And above all, you must look after your health. You have one body and one mind and they must last you a lifetime.

So develop the habit of taking good care of both.

To reinforce the message of the importance of repetition and routine I‘ve included this excellent video from Brian Tracy.

Brian is always a source of great advice for anyone seeking success and aiming to create a successful life for themselves and certainly, he’s one of my main sources of constant inspiration.

The video is short but well worth your time and I recommend you watch it now.

Habits of successful people:

21 amusing quotes about earning a living

01/07/2026 by Roy Sutton

Today, I have a collection of amusing quotes about earning a living and reflecting on the nature of work and money.

Most of us have no choice but to do whatever’s necessary to pay our bills and put bread on the table.

Yes, it can be rewarding, but sometimes we must question whether the stress of work is worth it.

The easiest way to deal with stress is through humour, so here is my take on work and money in 21 quotes.

Earning a living can be a challenge, but it doesn’t do to take any of it too seriously.

I hope some of these quotes resonate with you, dear reader. Enjoy them all.

Quotes about earning a living (1-10)

Yes, I’m sick. Sick of work.

The best part of my job is a chair that swivels.

Money isn’t everything but try living without it.

I can’t afford to get sick. I’m far too busy at work.

Money talks, of course, but mine mostly just says goodbye.

Yes, I have a sense of purpose. My purpose is a life of leisure.

I work not because I want to but because I don’t have any choice.

Money can’t buy happiness, but it can provide a comfortable misery.

The part of my working day that I look forward to most is going home.

I’m not driven by a love of money; I’m driven by the fear of being poor.

Quotes about earning a living (11-21)

I’m a self-made man. I started out with nothing, and I’ve still got nothing.

They say having money brings its own problems but so does not having money.

I’ll have enough income when I’m earning at least a penny more than I can spend.

They say having money is stressful but I find not having money is even more stressful.

I thought I wanted a career but now I realise all I really wanted was enough money to do as I please.

This morning, my boss said, make sure you have a good day. So, I went home, and I had a wonderful day.

If I had to choose between a life with money or a life without, then it’s a no-brainer. Show me the money.

We were poor but we were happy. Well, that’s not quite true. We weren’t happy exactly, but we were poor.

I’m on neither your side nor their side. I’m on my side. Looking after my own interests because no one else will.

Given a choice between affluence and poverty, I’d choose affluence, if only to satisfy my desire to live comfortably.

Careers are a wonderful thing. So far, mine has taken my earning capacity from really struggling to pay my bills to just about managing to pay my bills.

So dear reader, were these quotes about earning a living as amusing as you’d hoped? Some, perhaps?

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Filed Under: Quotes Tagged With: earning a living, humor quotes, Influencers, Inspiration, Inspirational Quotes, Life, Meaning, money, Motivation, Motivational Quotes, quotes, quotes about earning a living, Wisdom, Work

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Investment in knowledge

Learning is an investment

Self-education is the best education

The price of ignorance

Please share this post with your friends:

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Embarrassed by circumstances

Money does matter

Wealth and financial freedom

It all starts with change

You must increase your value

Success can be yours

Build a business

The psychology of wealth

How to improve your life quality

Recommendations for your library

Please share this post with your friends:

Articles you might find interesting

Inspirational quotes about money (1-10):

Inspirational quotes about money (11-21):

Please share these quotes:

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The power of repetition:

Start with one good habit:

Self-discipline is key:

The power of helping others:

Look after your health:

Habits of successful people:

Further Reading:

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Quotes about earning a living (1-10)