To Get Rich... Do Nothing?

I came across this article on Yahoo finance today, courtesy of TheStreet.com. The link was yet another list of things to do to make yourself rich. The link I clicked on was entitled "Twelve Ways to Motivate Yourself For Wealth," which is a headline tailor made for today's personal finance-minded Internet audience.

As I went through the list, I found myself thinking how if a person wanted to make a lot of money and did a few Internet searches for how to do so, he or she would find probably 99% crap that will waste his or her time, and 1% interesting information.

The law of diminishing returns kicks in over time as you go through these lists and do all of these largely administrative things. Yes, set up your 401K right. Allthough, I'm sorry to say it's not going to make you rich if you only make $30k a year for the rest of your life. And spending an hour debating whether you should have 5% or 10% international stocks in your portfolio isn't going to make you rich either.

I think about a wealthy investment banker I know, and I try to imagine him keeping a daily financial journal, as thestreet.com's #5 way to stay financially motivated suggests. If this guy wasted his time keeping a journal, he wouldn't be out there studying new financial instruments, accounting pronouncements and marketplace trends that create opportunities for him to sell his services to deep-pocketed corporate clients. The scant free time he has is too precious to waste on a financial journal or playing credit card cash advance arbitrage.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is to look at your job, your business, or whatever your income sources may be. Those are the things that are going to make you rich. Spend an hour getting to know your company's business better. Look at how the financials work, even if you aren't involved in the finance side of the business. Look at how you can do things better. Make yourself more valuable to your employer (or to yourself if you're self-employed). I admit this is easier said than done, but the amount of time poor and middle class people spend reading about these fluffy "wealth" topics is a huge waste for them.

I am guilty of sometimes passing these tips along, but I hope you know not to focus on these things too much while neglecting the most important part of your financial future, which is your income or your business.