Becoming financially independent is not easy.  The journey is long.  As I have said elsewhere, financial freedom is about building wealth – a process that takes time.  It is not about get rich quick schemes.

An important part of the journey is deciding who to listen to.   There are 2 types of advice.  Good & Bad.  Many people pay a lot of attention to Bad advice.  So when it comes to wealth building, creating passive income, cashflow and buying assets and liabilities, who are the advisors you listen to?

Most of us pay a good deal of attention to our family.  It may be the family we grew up in (e.g. our parents), or it could be members of our present family (spouse, brother-in-law etc.).  Next on the list is our friends, and that is often followed by our bank or financial planner.  The question is, out of those people, how many of them are financially independent?

If you are like me, you don’t know many people who are actually financially independent (people who do not have to work because their assets generate enough money each month for them to live on).  Most of my friends are firmly in the middle class, and my family (including my wife’s family) are bordering on being poor.  Interestingly they all have lots to say on the subject of money.  The question is, should I take their advice when it comes to financial matters?

Of course not! The people I want to pay attention to are those who have actually been succesful financially, and who have managed to escape the rat race.  Names such as Robert Kiyosaki (best known for his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad but who has written many other excellent books on becoming financially independent), T. Harv Eker, Donald Trump, even Derek Foster and Napoleon Hill (whose book Think & Grow Rich is available to read right on this website).  It is my view that these people are worth listening to as they have proven themselves.  They have found ways to generate passive income which provides them with enough cashflow every month to live on.

Right now I am looking for more people who are financially free.  I hope to meet them in real life and get to know them.  I want to learn from them.  I will listen to what they have to say.  As for friends and family who are plodding along working to live and living to work…..I’m not paying much attention to you when it comes to the subject of money!

So who do you listen to?  Family & friends?  Do you have a trusted advisor?  Have you got a mentor who is further along the road to financial independence than you?