The 5 Steps of (Wealth) Creation
Reading Time: 3-minutes
Wealth isn’t a problem to be solved. It’s an opportunity to create.
And the more you create, the better you get at creating. Your 1st million dollars is a lot harder to create than the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th million. This is because by the 4th million, you’ve gotten pretty good at creating wealth.
The creative process is not voodoo magic.
As millionaire entrepreneur Naval Ravikant (@Naval on Twitter) reminds us:
“A lot of people think making money is about luck. It’s not. It’s about becoming the kind of person that makes money. I like to think that if I lost all my money and if you drop me on a random street in any English-speaking country, within 5, 10 years I’d be wealthy again, because it’s just a skill set that I’ve developed and I think anyone can develop. ”
Naval knows that creating wealth is a definable creative process you can learn and practice. It’s not about luck. It’s about activating the creative process to create wealth (or anything else you’d like to create).
Robert Fritz in his book, The Path of Least Resistance, defines this creative process explicitly. He breaks it down into 5 easily explained steps.
He warns us, though, that while the process can be described simply, the steps are not a formula for creativity. They are an overview of the creative process.
Here are the 5-steps of the creative process from Fritz:
1. Conceive of the result you want to create.
“Creators start at the end. First, they have an idea of what they want to create.”
We have to have a specific vision in mind for the result that we want to create.
A painter doesn’t approach an empty canvas without an idea of the image he or she would like to bring into existence.
A screenwriter doesn’t sit down and begin writing their screenplay without a detailed outline that has flushed out the many twists and turns of the narrative.
An actor doesn’t act in a scene until he or she has crafted a specific vision of their character and broken down the emotional beats of the script in detail.
This does not close the door to improvisation. Things will of course change on the path towards the final product, but as Fritz says, ‘creators start at the end.’ They have a vision for what they want to bring into existence.
Similarly, you can’t start to create the life you really want until you have specified what that life looks like in as much detail as you can.
If it’s wealth you’re after, how much wealth? See the numbers in your mind and then write them down.
It’s not silly or stupid. Visualization can be a powerful tool for success.
Visualize the life you want, in as much detail as possible. Fritz says that this will create a structural tension – the discrepancy between what you want and what you currently have. And this structural tension can serve as a tremendous reservoir of energy for you to draw from later.
It also helps to write down the timeframe in which you want to create your vision. This will impose a sense of urgency on your creation.
2. Know what currently exists.
“One of the most important abilities creators have is the ability to be objective about their own creations.”
Being objective about reality is really hard. There are all sorts of cognitive biases keeping us from experiencing the world as it really is.
If you want a refresher on some of the ones at play in your daily life, here are 25 of them from Charlie Munger’s speech, The Psychology of Human Misjudgment.
Fritz’s argument is that if you are going to create something, you need to know what exists currently so you can change it into your final product.
The ability to objectively view reality is something you can learn and then practice for your entire life.
It begins with the realization that we don’t often see objective reality. Then, you can learn the cognitive biases that exist, and start to spot them in yourself. Finally, you’ll be able to (occasionally) correct your thinking when you succumb to these biases.
Self-awareness, and “a capacity for truth,” as Fritz says, will help you see the world as it is.
Only from this objective, accurate starting point can you begin to transform reality into the life you want to create.
3. Take action.
“Creating is a matter of invention rather than of convention.”
Every lesson that I internalize in my life comes through experience.
Books can take you far, but even if you memorize each twist and turn in the map, you haven’t internalized the lesson until you walk the path yourself.
This is the power of action. It takes you from where you are to where you want to go, on a path you’ve never walked before.
Fritz tells us that creating is itself a process of learning. You learn what works and what does not work through action.
Trial and error will either get you closer to your goal or further away. Over time, you’ll come to instinctually know what actions will work best to create what it is you want to create.
Only through action, and then learning from those actions, will you learn to create.
4. Learn the rhythms of the creative process.
Fritz explains that the creative process has distinct phases. These phases include germination, assimilation, and completion.
The germination phase is that initial rush of adrenaline when you stumble upon a new idea. It’s a wonderful feeling of excitement and inspiration – the phase where you tell everyone who will listen about your idea.
I feel the fun of this phase every time I settle on the topic of my next article (and my wife feels the pain, as she’s the first filter of my idea). The adrenaline and joy of a new idea is wondrous, and it’s tempting to try and spend as much time in this phase as possible.
The assimilation phase is where your concept or idea becomes a part of you. You live with your visualization, and it colors every action and experiment you take to try and create it. The rush of initial adrenaline has faded, but the connection to your idea is deeper. It’s that deep connection that fuels the creative process.
The feeling associated with the completion phase is similar to that of the germination phase – adrenaline and pleasure, but this time it’s fueling the final completion of the result you set out to achieve.
I get this pleasure every time I publish an article (and again, my wife feels the pain, as she’s the first one to read it before edits).
Fritz says that the creation phase serves as fuel for the germination phase of your next creation. For me, the pleasure of the completion phase does generally push me to my next idea. I want to “keep the party going” when I’m creating.
5. Creating Momentum.
“Who do you think has a greater chance for successfully creating the results they want: those who have done it for years, or those who are novices?”
As you begin to create things today, you will become better at creating things tomorrow.
The 1st million dollars is a lot harder to create than the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th million. This is because by the 4th million, you’ve gotten pretty good at creating wealth.
Only through creating can you learn your own creative process, giving you additional experience and knowledge each time you create.
Over time, you’ll get better at envisioning exactly what it is you want to create, and then bringing those results into the world.
It’s astounding what you can build if you work at it everyday. Most people underestimate what they can learn.
The idea of momentum reminds me of this quote from Bill Gates:
“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”
The creative process takes time to learn. In fact, it’s a lifelong journey. But as you keep at it, you’ll gain momentum and improve.
And 10 years from now, you’ll be astounded at what you’ve built.
The creative process is not magic. It’s not luck.
It can be learned, practiced, and potentially mastered with enough perseverance.
And you can use it to create the life, and wealth, you really want.
What are you waiting for?
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Fritz, Robert. The Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life. Ballantine Books; Revised, Expanded Edition, 1989.
How To Get Rich (without getting lucky) by Naval Ravikant