Paul Explains Leverage and Why He Wants It

In my quest for happiness, I have learned of the idea of leverage. Having leverage in my life means I have some power over what happens to me throughout. It can be a financial, professional, spiritual or relational concept.

The lever is one of the most important human discoveries, forever changing what we as humans could physically accomplish.

I'm big into personal development, and one of my favorite teachers recently taught me of the concept of personal leverage through wise professional and business decisions. The idea is that we can use our efforts and money like a lever, drive it underneath any obstacles that seem to be in our way of happiness and satisfaction, and then use the leverage we've created to move obstacles out of our way.

If it doesn't have leverage, don't do it.

Marshall Thurber

Leverage basically creates freedom. If I have leverage, that means I retain the right to choose what I will or won't do with my day, week, month, year and life because I have the financial power to make such decisions.

One way many of us create leverage is through home ownership. We pay for where we live, which we have to do whether we rent or own. As owners, what we pay comes back to us in the sale of our homes. I just experienced that for the first time in my life. It was exciting. Leverage is awesome!

Here are 3 ways to create leverage

Own things

Owning businesses, real estate, intellectual property, proprietary inventions and other things helps to create leverage. Network marketing is becoming more and more popular because people are realizing that it is an ownership opportunity that requires very little money but can provide a paycheck well into the future for work done today. My wife is part of a network marketing opportunity called Lifemax distributing a chia blend called Mila.

Create things

We are paid for our value as creators. Whether we create inventions, services that do a great job, nutrition bars whose name is inspired by the sound of motorbikes, a porfolio, a library, or a series, creation is a great way to gain leverage. I believe we are creating at all times anyway, so we might as well create something that creates  right back for us.

Make something once, sell it a billion times

While working in radio, I am inundated with one of the best forms of leverage there is. To create something one time and be paid for it forever more is the ideal situation, and this happens all day, every day with the authors of the songs we play on the radio. Just about anytime you hear any song in a public place, the author of that song earns a royalty. There are many forms of this, and it is possibly the most powerful form of leverage.