Everyone wants to be rich… but most will never know how.

There are so many books, blogs, ebooks, and seminars about wealth that you think there should be more rich people in the world if it were that obvious. But there aren’t, because obvious is the furthest thing from it.

I could go on forever about why this is, from the deck being stacked against you to an inflated sense of entitlement, but that would be beyond the point. I would be adding to the literature about why you’re not doing as well as you could only places me too close to the herd that is trying to take money from you in exchange for telling you how to make money (online or off). But it’s not that easy.

Getting rich requires good luck, timing, hard work, and/or a fair amount of insight. You already know this, and you might have some of those in varying amounts, but may still not be rich. Adjust the formula, and you can be.

You may think that getting rich needs to happen because it will help you get more stuff, or make you happier. But studies on happiness show that you don’t get happy beyond a certain amount per year. If you get there, you’ll realize that, then wonder what your higher purpose is, or donate billions to charity if you have them. That connection to a larger sphere of humanity is what, ironically, makes you happy, and you could have done it when you were broke. Really.

But there is a reason to become rich– why you, yes you who is reading this, should become it. It’s because being rich will allow you to become independent, and to say no to what you don’t want and free you enough to say yes to what you do.

This will allow you to be free of influence on what your behaviour is. You’ll be a more natural you if you aren’t afraid, if you’re confident. They say carrying a gun is a great way to feel strong; well, making good money helps that too.

Lots of people will disagree, and say the rich want more. For some, this is true. But more often than not, in those I’ve known, it’s made them who they want to be. It’s made them free to be who they are. Which means they can decide for themselves what is right, instead of rich people deciding for them.

And by the way, remember the opposite, which is also true. Be independent– and as you learn to be, you’ll also become rich. The two are connected, and you can get closer to one by becoming closer to the other.