How to get rich without luck, talent, or a trust fund

Calculate Your Freedom Number

The 4% rule determines how much you need to achieve financial independence. Take your desired annual income and divide by 0.04. If you want $100,000 per year, you need $2.5 million invested. This creates passive income that frees you from mandatory work, allowing you to choose how you spend your time.

Develop a High-Income Skill

Master one of four valuable skill categories: Make (create solutions like videos, websites, or scripts), Market (direct attention toward purchases), Monetize (convert conversations into sales), or Manage (oversee projects and outcomes)
Choose the skill that aligns with what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what pays well
Commit to mastery for at least 1,000 days of focused practice
Find someone to pay you while you develop expertise

Build Ownership, Not Just Income

Wages feed you, but ownership frees you—highly paid professionals still trade time for money
Progress through three phases: build cash reserves with your high-income skill, reinvest in yourself through education and skill development, then invest profits into assets
Start with low-fee index funds like the S&P 500 for passive growth
Invest in your current business first, then pursue opportunities where you have unfair advantages
Focus on assets that generate returns whether you work or not

Apply Leverage Over Labor

Master the four leverage multipliers: Code (automation and AI), Content (scalable communication), Capital (money generating returns), and Collaboration (working effectively with others)
Small effort with leverage creates massive results—one video reaches millions, one system runs forever
Hire an executive assistant to buy back 10-20 hours weekly for high-value activities
Leverage multiplies outcomes while hard work only adds incrementally

Build Distribution Systems

Pick one platform and master it through consistent daily posting
Lead with free value—solve small problems to earn trust for solving big problems
Build owned media through email and SMS lists that platforms cannot take away
Integrate promotion naturally into valuable content rather than separating teaching from selling

Avoid Financing Lifestyle

Use debt for assets that generate returns, never for status or consumption
Spending future earnings on lifestyle creates a hole you cannot escape
Commit three to five years of disciplined spending to achieve permanent freedom
Remember that buying things means selling your time—rich people buy assets while broke people buy applause

Use Money as a Tool for Freedom

Money amplifies who you are—it does not solve character problems
The goal is buying back your time to spend on meaningful work and relationships
Invest in people who support your life and help them build their dreams
Focus on becoming the person who can rebuild wealth from scratch, because skills and character are the true assets you keep forever