Here’s a rather astonishing statistic.

3 percent of the population makes 97 percent of all the money that is earned.

So, if you’d like to achieve financial freedom one day, here’s a question that may cross your mind:

How do so few people manage to earn such a high percentage of the money?

The answer: They have multiple sources of income (MSI).

Having MSI is the same idea as diversifying your investment portfolio. That way when one income stream suffers, the others make up for it. And if none of them are suffering, then you’re making a lot of money.

You get the picture.

Unfortunately, most of us were not conditioned to think of earning money in this way. So, without some guidance, it can be difficult to figure out where to begin.

I hope the following provides useful ideas to help you get started.

The truth about jobs

Here’s another truth about wealthy people…

Most own a company.

So, if you still have a regular job, and you’d like to enjoy great wealth, consider also starting a business.

You may think you’ll eventually accumulate great wealth from the income you earn from your job. However, for most people, the odds of becoming financially free from a job that is their only source of income are quite low.

I know starting a business while working a job may seem overwhelming.  But, you CAN do it. And the easiest, fastest and most effective way is by doing something that is closely related to what you’re already doing or something you’re really good at.

And if you’re already a business owner, creating MSI will be even easier.

Getting started

Sometimes business owners think creating multiple streams of income means starting a second company.

That’s something you might do at some point, but it’s a lot easier to find multiple sources of income within your current business—or in the field you currently work in if you’re not yet a business owner.

Here are five steps to help you create an effective strategy for developing MSI:

1. Create a mindmap. Take out a piece of paper and write what you do, your main product or your primary service in the middle and draw a circle around it. For example, if you’re a farmer, write farmer in the middle of the page and circle it.
2. Let your imagination run wild. Relax and think of all the products (e.g., planters, new crops) and services (e.g., teach others how to farm/garden, put in gardens at people’s homes) you can create that relate to your existing business.

Also, think of other people’s products, such as farm or garden tools, or services (e.g., farm consulting) you can promote.

Draw several lines from the center circle on your paper so it looks like a spider. Each time you think of a new product or service, write it down at the end of one of the lines and circle it.

If you think of an offshoot that is related to one of your previous ideas, be sure to connect it (via a line) to the appropriate product or service.

3. Identify passive income sources. Make a list of passive income sources that are on your mindmap. A source of passive income is something that you create once and then it continues to generate income with little or no input from you.

For example, writing a book is a passive income source. You write it (and market it) once and sell it over and over. Other forms of passive income include courses, audio or video programs, affiliate marketing, licensing your ideas, franchising, and continuity programs (i.e., memberships).

4. Identify where you can get the biggest bang for your time. Also look for ideas that allow you to reach many people at once, such as teaching classes, leading workshops, speaking in public, or creating videos.
5. Choose just one. Although you may identify several potential additional income sources during this process, pick just one to start with.

Planning and launching a new source of income is the most time-consuming part. Avoid the temptation of jumping into several ideas at one time because putting your focus into many areas will dilute your efforts and slow you down.

When you get one income stream up and running, then start the next one. I recommend developing as many passive sources of income as you can. That will allow you to leverage your time effectively (more about that in a few moments).

If it’s broken, don’t fix it 

Creating additional income sources won’t happen overnight. So make sure you give each of your potential income sources the time and effort needed to get them running. However, be aware that everything is not going to pan out.

If something doesn’t start generating income in a reasonable amount of time or if you don’t like it, let it go and move on to something else.

Multiply your time

Do you know why approximately 97 people out of 100 make only 3 percent of all the money that is being earned?

It’s because they use a money-earning strategy that will never work if you want financial freedom…

They trade their time for money.

The problem with this strategy is it has a saturation point. There will always be a limit on your earning potential because there’s only so much time in a day.

Of course, we all get the same amount of time, so it’s what you do with that time that makes the difference.

The problem is most of us learned from an early age to get a good job, pay the bills and save some money for a rainy day.

So we hoard our money and, as a result, we never drive the car we want or live in the house we really want. And when we go into a store, the first thing we do when we see something we want is look at the price tag to see if we can afford it.

That’s not the kind of life God intended us to live. The Divine created us to live full and abundant lives.

So, no matter how much you make, start thinking about ways to multiply your time (and your money) by adding passive sources of income.

Then, you’ll be on your way to reaching the point where, instead of always looking at price tags, you can focus on and get what you really want in life and be able to give more to others.

If you’d like help in developing the right mindset to experience this kind of wealth…

Download your infographic on developing a prosperity consciousness.

SUBMIT

And, whatever you do, don’t beat yourself up about what you are or are not currently doing. Instead, use this information to help you become more of who you’re meant to be.

To more and better,

Sandy Gallagher
CEO & Co-Founder
Proctor Gallagher Institute