A US Marine has three core values that we live by—honor, courage, and commitment. These are words we count on in the most difficult of times. Two years into my journey to financial independence, I found that there are also core values on this path.
Building streams of passive income isn’t for everyone. In fact, most people don’t have what it takes to build an income stream from a few bucks to a massive river of revenue. It’s not that people aren’t smart enough; it’s more that they can’t navigate through the desert alone.
Finding a path. You see, you can read as many books as you’d like and watch YouTube until your eyes bleed, but your income stream will be different than everyone else’s. Your income stream is a very personal affair, and no one can build your stream for you.
Do What You Love or Love What You Do?
When I started writing and book publishing, I went in my own direction. Most people don’t write their own stuff; they have ghostwriters do all the heavy lifting. Others just publish low-content books and use keywords and SEO to get sales.
I wanted to write because it is challenging, and it adds value. I am not writing 1000+ words a day for monetary gain (it’s a nice perk); I am writing to leave an impact on others. I had never heard the words passive income until I was 38 years old—that’s ridiculous.
Since then, I have wanted to ensure everyone has access to free content that could potentially change their life. All they have to do is read and take action, and that is where the core values of passive income come into play.
Core values. I would love to say that building passive income streams is easy, but I’d be lying. However, it is not difficult—when you have the right mindset. It comes down to how badly you want to achieve success.
How Do You Define Being Rich?
I started my writing and publishing career on January 4, 2021. I made $3 in royalties that month. Ten months later, in November 2021, I made $87 in royalties. The problem is that most people look at $87 and scuff, saying, “I can make much more than that by working.”
That employee mindset is what holds us back from greatness. I look at my $87 and thank wow, that’s 27X more money than I made in my first month. To me, it’s a crazy amount of cash flow. I also know that if I continue to add value, the monetary rewards follow. That’s right, value first, cash flow second.
You see, I built a dividend portfolio from the ground up already. I started with $0.03 in June 2019, and now it’s over $600 in November 2021. Passive income starts slow and compounds exponentially faster. Again, with the right mindset, you can prepare to receive this wealth.
I will outline my core values of passive income, which are self-education, self-motivation, and self-dedication. Yes, I know family and relationships are vital to wealth creation, but I want to focus on ourselves today. At the end of the day, we have to wake ourselves up during the magic hours to get work done. Nobody Is coming to save us. Let’s begin.
J.O.M.O. The Joy of Missing Out
Self-Education. I’m starting with self-education because you derive your thirst for passive income from knowledge. When you see a YouTuber making $1 million per month, limiting beliefs tell you that you cannot achieve this feat.
However, with self-education, you’ll understand how they accomplished this goal. Even better, you can go back and evaluate their journey step-by-step, which helps you build your plan.
So, where do you start your journey to enlightenment? Reading is the number one most important part of creating income streams. Yes, the number one. You can grind 15 hours a day and not get anywhere because of the wrong mindset or techniques.
The goal is to read enough books that you start to formulate your own ideas. Trust me; if you read enough, your mind will take you to some crazy goals, visions, and paths. Our minds want us to succeed, but what we consume during the day limits us most of the time.
I would start by setting the goal of reading one book a month. I am reading at least one book a week, but I am at that stage of understanding. One book a month is a great place to start your journey.
Become CEO of Yourself
Here are some books I recommend to get you started. Again, build the habit of reading before you progress further down your passive income journey. Because when things get hard, which they will, you’ll have the proper mindset to get you through tough times.
- “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki
- “I Will Teach You to be Rich” by Ramit Sethi
- “Limitless” by Jim Kwik
- “Mindset” by Carol S. Dweck
- “The Millionaire Fastlane” by MJ DeMarco
Self-Motivation. Unless your parents left you millions of dollars, a business, and taught you how to be an entrepreneur from birth, you probably work a job. I have been working a job for 25+ years; 22+ of those have been in the US Marine Corps.
Creating passive income is an entirely new mindset compared to being an employee. Even if you are building a dividend portfolio, you still need the perspective of an entrepreneur. As a dividend investor, you have to understand business to invest in companies.
What’s So Great About Being Independent?
Every passive income stream has a time requirement. Last I checked, you have a limited amount of time on this Earth. Most of us have jobs, spouses, families, and other responsibilities to perform. How are we supposed to build a passive income stream when we are already business enough?
This is where your self-motivation keeps you going. You need to know your goals and stick to them. Every.Single.Day. Yes, passive income isn’t a weekend thing. Every day, you should interact with your income streams—even if that consists of watching today’s stock market highlights.
Every day I check into my websites for stocks, retirement planning, real estate, and business. I also look at my dividend portfolio and update my spreadsheets. Of course, I write 1000+ words a day for my writing career. I am busy, but I have never had more time.
You see, I convinced myself that I love all these things, along with running and staying in shape. That’s how you derive genuine self-motivation; you just make everything a part of your life—no questions, no options, no opinions.
I Have Everything I Want in Life…And Then Some
Most people love to watch Netflix, the news, sports, and politics. This is how they spend their time. However, the passive income seeker doesn’t have time for this nonsense. They are motivated to add value and build income streams.
If you lack motivation, again, start by setting and achieving your reading goals. You’ll read how entrepreneurs started in the same place as you and become rich by working hard during their free time.
Self-Dedication. You truly need self-dedication once you start your income streams. When you start, no one is going to rescue you. You have to invest in the markets, start a YouTube channel, create an e-commerce business by buying products, write a book, start a blog, or rent a room.
These are all things that can seem complicated, and they all go against the grain of holding a job. You have to believe in yourself above all else. If you are scared to make a mistake, then continue to work a job.
On the path, you will have to make mistakes and learn from them. Your artistic work will be shit when you start. My writing sucked when I wrote my first blog posts. I had no idea what I was doing, just that I wanted to add value. You’ll improve every single day, especially if you are reading.
Losing Friends? You’re Doing Something Right
The book “Dirt Rich” talks about “the dip.” After you start your income stream, things begin well. Then eventually, things almost disappear. Something happens, and you begin to question yourself. Most people give up during “the dip.”
I reached that point several times, but I didn’t give up since I had read about it. I believed in my books and writing and continued to persist. Now, I am in my top-earning month on Amazon, and my website is getting organic traffic from Google Search.
I still have so much work to do, but I am seeing the results of my dedication to myself. I believed that I could become a writer, and I have. Now, I need to prove that I can keep it up for the rest of my life. A tremendous challenge indeed.
Life is Not a Game
For your income stream, you must believe in yourself. Your product or business may suck, but that is a part of life. You will learn from every experience. However, your dedication to yourself and your mission will lead to long-term success.
Conclusion. I rambled on again today. I just love talking about income streams and the mindset behind them. Once you read enough books, you’ll see how society stifled our creativity. We are all creative in some way, but employees don’t need to be creative.
Finding our creativity is part of our passive income journey. If you take these core values to heart, you find your true purpose—and it’s not working a job. I hope this helps you on your journey if only a little.
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. All Right Reserved Military Family Investing
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