Blog | Paper Assets

Investing for Those Starting at Zero

Surprise! It doesn’t take money to make money

summary

• Every successful investor once started with nothing.

• Financial education is your greatest wealth-building tool.

• You don’t need money to start—just education and action.

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If you’ve decided that you’re finally going to make your first investment, congratulations to you! 

As you pursue your journey to become an investor, you can gain an important new vision of how money works. You’ll never look at it the same way again. Your confidence will grow. And you’ll have a great time along the way.

The road to financial freedom

The road to becoming a successful investor might have some bumps along the way. It’s completely normal. Bumps in the road do not mean that you are failing. They just mean you’re on the journey.

Take it from Andy Tanner, Rich Dad Advisor and investing expert. 

“With each of my own failures along the way, I have faced a point of decision to either move forward or quit. When you decide to stand up and move forward, you transform that failure into a lesson learned rather than an ending point to the story. I’m so grateful for my mistakes. I know that sounds weird. I’m not saying they were fun, and I’m not saying I want to repeat them.

One of my greatest mentors is Robert Kiyosaki. He’s the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, the best-selling personal finance book of all time. I’ve had the chance to work closely with Robert and his personal team during my time as a Rich Dad Advisor for paper assets.”

For those who really know Robert, he’s much more than an author and mentor. He is an entrepreneur and an investor extraordinaire. Among the many powerful lessons, one of the most profound is regarding the difference between asset and liability - a “must know” when it comes to being a successful investor.

Starting at zero

The purpose of this article is to help you begin to see how anyone can start at that same beginning point and find success. Whether your desire is to start a business, invest in real estate, trade stocks, or buy commodities, this information is designed to help you achieve your goals even if you have nothing to start with.

At this point in your journey, don’t become too preoccupied with getting across the finish line. Instead, let’s focus on getting to the starting line. Honestly speaking, there isn’t any one recipe that will magically make you millions. 

But what we do have to offer are the principles used by the rich every single day. As a result, you will gain an understanding of how you can create something valuable from nothing.

Doesn’t it take money to make money?

All of us carry a lot of beliefs about money, and our beliefs tend to guide our actions, our feelings, and our thoughts. But here is even more proof for you. Consider the following famous wealthy people:

• T. Boone Pickens is an oil and gas investor worth about $1.2 billion

• Donald Trump is an icon in real estate, and his wealth is worth somewhere between $3 billion and $7 billion

• Richard Branson is an amazing businessman with multiple companies under his Virgin brand, currently worth about $4.5 billion

• George Soros is known as a master of paper assets (my favorite, of course) and is worth about $20 billion dollars

• And Warren Buffet, perhaps the greatest investor ever, is worth about $53 billion according to Forbes, and he has had success in almost every asset class

Now think about this: What if we took away all of the wealth of these people by taking every last penny from their bank accounts. Where do you think they would be in five years?

Since they don’t have any more money, do you think they would be destined for poverty?

Would we see them on the streets homeless without hope of ever getting it back?

Or do you believe that they would find their way back on top?

When asking this question to groups of investors, almost everyone realizes that these icons would become rich again. If that is true, how could they do it? If it takes money to make money, how can a person that is absolutely penniless climb up to the highest levels of wealth again?

Is it because of dumb luck happening again and again to the same person?

Or is it because they possess some type of knowledge that other people don’t have?

Education is the answer

These people, and many others, have risen to the top for a reason. They have taken responsibility for their financial education and learned how to invest properly and wisely. They didn’t take shortcuts. They continually improved their financial education levels until the inevitable outcome was huge success.

If a person wants to be a concert pianist, the only thing that stands between where they are now and performing on a stage is training, mentors, hard work, and time. The catalyst for everything is education.

You will see that the secret ingredients to every worthwhile investing strategy are education and effort. If you are willing to put in a little work, a little time, manage risk wisely, and get out of your comfort zone, you can begin to experience your own success.

To learn more about investing as a beginner, join Andy’s free webinar by clicking here now.