Today, I want to expose a lie that a lot of people believe. This is a lie that is detrimental to your success. But the truth is so encouraging and so refreshing, and it has the power to propel you forward in every area of your life.

One night a few weeks ago, we were sitting outside under the stars, and one of my co-workers asked my husband a question about what the turning point was that got him started down the path to true wealth that he is on today. It was so interesting to sit and listen to Hans’ answer to this question, because it really took me back through everything we both have been through to get where we are today.

See, so many people have this idea that successful people or wealthy people just woke up one day and they just happened to get lucky. Somehow the sun, moon, and stars lined up perfectly, and everything just worked out. But that couldn’t be further from the truth!

You may have heard my story before – I grew up on welfare in a home filled with drugs and violence and abuse. I was pregnant at 17, and homeless at 21. (Hello! Does this sound even remotely like the perfect circumstances for me to end up wealthy? Heck no!) When I was homeless, I started a business out of the trunk of my car and a payphone booth, and I made my first million within 2 years.

I could leave the story there and tell you that today I’m a multimillionaire with 5 companies, 3 best-selling books, and mountains of testimonials from satisfied clients all over the world. But that would be doing you a huge disservice.

Because what happened between making my first million and today is so vitally important to the story!

I made a lot of money and lost a lot of money several times. I spent it just as fast as I was making it. My lifestyle grew with my income. I went from traveling coach on an airplane to flying first class. I went from McDonalds to 5-star restaurants. From JC Penney’s to Nordstrom and Saks 5th Avenue. From Motel 6 to the presidential suite at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. I went from a small apartment to a $250,000 condo filled with expensive furniture.

I spent everything I made. I somehow believed that the flood of money I had experienced was going to last forever. I saw it as a water faucet that would never run dry.

And then one day, I was embezzled for the second time. Ouch! I had a lot of expensive stuff, but no money. I had a $50,000 overhead each month between payroll and business expenses, but I had no income.

I wish I could say that I learned from this bad experience, but I didn’t. Hans and I picked ourselves back up, but a few years later we did it all over again. This time, on a much larger scale.

We had a $900,000 mortgage. We went from no car debt to $70,000 of car debt. We went from no credit card debt to $30,000. (Do the math…that’s 1 million dollars of debt!)

We decided to move to a cheaper town, where we bought a house with 10 acres, 6,000 square feet, a pool, tennis court, guest house, 1,000 flowers that bloomed continuously, and a 4-car garage to fit 3 cars and more stuff. And now that we had a bigger house, of course we had to buy MORE stuff.

Right after we spent a small fortune remodeling our 3rd dream home, we hit some horrible, horrible hard times – again. I was diagnosed with a fatal heart condition the same day Hans lost ALL of our life savings in the stock market.

Long story short, my first decade of making money was filled with some major financial failures, a lot of pain and suffering, too much stuff, tons of debt, and stress I couldn’t handle.

The last decade, however, has been a completely different story. It has not been about making money just to spend it. It has been about financial responsibility and accumulating wealth. We have had so much less stress and so much more prosperity. It has been a steady climb up.

And as I sat and listened to Hans tell the story that fills in the space between making my first million over 2 decades ago, and accumulating true wealth today, I kept thinking about how we heard the message for so long before we obeyed.

The difference in me 20-something years ago and today is this: I followed directions. We obeyed the message of financial responsibility. My husband and I have learned the skills we needed to become financially independent. Hans has become a brilliant businessman and investor. It didn’t happen overnight. We didn’t just happen to get lucky.

So be encouraged! You may have heard the message of War on Debt before, but you just haven’t taken action against your debt. You may have heard it 20 times before, but you’re still spending your money in all the wrong places. Or maybe you’ve become debt-free, but you just haven’t crossed the line from debt-free to accumulating wealth yet.

I told you that Hans and I heard the message for a long time before we obeyed. We faced some really hard financial troubles until we decided to obey the message and get financially responsible. And look what has happened since!

Don’t think that you’re too far behind. Don’t get discouraged in thinking, “Man, I should have started this a year ago or 5 years ago!” That’s not important. What IS important is that you are reading this message right now. If you were not meant to get on the path to true financial freedom, you would not have received this letter today. But you did! Now it’s up to you to take action on it.

I want you to think about who you know that needs to read this letter. Who do you know that needs the encouragement to press forward and to get on track for wealth instead of financial ruin? Just pass this along to them. Forward this letter or post this link on Facebook and Twitter.

Be sure to join me tonight for our Monday Night Strategy Call at 9 pm ET/8 pm CT and get some practical tips to help you in your business, career, and everyday life! (See the sidebar for details, and be sure to check the new summer schedule!)

In great faith,

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