I remember when Tiffany and I were first married and she had just gotten into graduate school to earn her Doctorate in Physical Therapy…it was tough, I had past credit card debt from starting up my business on credit a few years earlier, I was working to pay for living expenses of two people, and we were rudely awakened to how much more grad school costs than undegrad!

And I remember thinking, “You know, our life would just be perfect if we could JUST GET THE MONEY THING FIGURED OUT.”

We had great health.
We were having a great start to our marriage.
We had great communication.
Good friends living nearby who were always there for us.

But the truth is that we weren’t really doing things to enjoy life. I don’t really stress about much of anything in life…things just roll off my back quite naturally…but even so, the constant, overhanging issue of debts to pay down and thoughts of “how can we afford this?” or “do we have enough money to be able to do this?”

And all of that was connected to MONEY (or, rather, the LACK of money.)

And I remember Tiffany and I saying, “Man, if we could ever get to $10,000 in a month, it’d feel like being a millionaire.”

And you know what…that was “a lot of money” to us.

Fast forward a few years…I’d found success online, had leads and sales coming in on autopilot, and actually had a $10,000 month. (also including income from my kitchen/bath remodeling projects that month)

You know what? It DID feel like “a lot of money”.

But something interesting happened. We discovered that it’s not actually as much money as you think.

Some of you might say, “Oh, there it is! Money can’t buy you happiness! And you figured it out, didn’t you?”

No, that’s not it at all. The reason I say that $10k/month wasn’t “a lot of money” is because we discovered ALL THE THINGS WE HAD BEEN DOING WITHOUT.

Like regular dental visits. And optometrist visits. Regular massages. And life insurance. Money leftover after bills (yeah you can actually have money left over!) to invest.

And buying a better quality of food. And buying a nice, big, queen-sized mattress that helped us feel better and rest better. And the ability to GIVE to worthwhile charities and organizations.

And the ability to buy the books, audios, concert tickets, and travel experiences that we needed to stimulate our mind. The ability to buy a car that didn’t break down all the time (2011 Toyota Corolla, we love it).

And enough money that we didn’t have to engage in “excessive toil” (as Wallace Wattles calls it). Enough money to buy back some of that time that I used to give to an employer.

And we realized…yeah, $10,000 per month IS a lot of money…but the truth is that, if you’re NOT making $10,000 per month…

…you’re really doing without a lot of things that you DESERVE to have.

And – with that realization – we realized that, if we can make $10,000 per month, we can make $25,000 per month.

And that became “a lot of money” to us.

We’re not there yet, but whenever we reach our goal, it will allow us to travel more…And visit places like Australia, Italy, Spain, Bora Bora, Thailand, and the Caribbean Islands and British Columbia, etc.

With that much more money, we will be able to DO cool things like help drill water wells in Africa & South America. Or provide scholarships to local kids who want to do things that they can’t afford to do. Or whatever.

And that’s when it hit us…

When “GIVING” and CONTRIBUTING is a big part of your purpose in life….

…well, even $25,000, when we make it, won’t be “a lot of money”.

I’m in complete gratitude of what success God has already allowed us, through working with and helping people just like yourself realize your dreams, building a business online, and have the success you deserve, so you can live out those dreams, and I know God has so much more in store for us as we continue to pursue our passion in helping others.

I look back over my last few years online – first with a few years of struggle and failure, and now with things really clicking into place over the last few months – and it’s amazing to me how results in your business can from just a small, simple decision to “take action” on something that looks promising.

And I shudder at the thought:

What if I hadn’t done it?
What if I’d chosen to play small?
What if I’d let fear get in the way?
What if I’d let the opinions of others get in the way?

No way! I don’t want that to be your story either, that you gave up on your dreams, on your potential, on life.

“A lot of money” means different things to different people.

Someone asked me the other day, “Brent, do you feel rich?”

I have earned millions yet – like I WILL – but yes, absolutely, I DO feel rich. I know I’m rich. God has blessed me with life, health, a beautiful marriage, and a business that’s just beginning to take off, where I’m profiting from truly helping other people. Can’t ask for much more than that.

When I see that Tiffany was right: we DID have the perfect life…we just needed to “get the money thing figured out”.

And we did…Still a ways to go, but definitely on the right track.

I love that we can just pay our insurance a year in advance instead of monthly or quarterly.

I love having all my bills on auto-pay because I’m not worried about over-drafting.

I love being able to help others when someone touches my heart or I see someone who I feel like deserves a helping hand…or giving one of the homeless men by our local Starbucks a breakfast sandwich while I’m there.

I feel rich when I spend time with leaders & friends in my company, like Lawrence Tam, Landon Stewart, Tj Chambers, Gary Taylor, & so many others I can’t even list them all off.

Because they inspire me to be more than I am.

I feel rich when I wake up beside the most beautiful, loving, caring, supportive, fun-loving woman in the world!

I feel rich when we’re able to take off on a trip (only short trips right now while Tiffany is still in grad school and limited on time away).

I feel rich when I think about the dreams, potential, and opportunities God gives us!

I feel rich when I can wake up, go for a morning run, listening to positive audio in my headset, and take as long as I want, without worry of making it to work on time.

I feel rich with all the love God has lavished us with.

So, yeah…I feel “rich” in some ways the money CAN buy, but more so in ways money CAN’T buy.

But, the bottom line is: if you don’t have the money, you can’t have freedom to do the things you want to do.

FACT: People with no money are WAY more obsessed about money than rich people.

When I was broke…I thought about money ALL THE TIME.

When you have enough money, it’s a tool. It’s an opportunity to just do more for more people.

“A lot of money” means a lot of things. But, whatever it means to you, let me invite you to step up and play a bigger game.

You deserve it.
YOUR FAMILY deserves it.
Your peers deserve to SEE YOU DO IT.

Life’s a choice. Choose well!

– Brent Wehmeyer

(my words inspired by a Facebook post by Tony Rush)