Assuming for a minute that you come from a rich family, these steps might sound odd, but these are  nice steps to take…see if you can do them…

Visualize that you are rich: you are rich by the thoughts that you have, damn the excel sheet. So go and Visualize that you are rich. You have a nice bank balance, assets to fund you for the rest of your life, and you have a nice big huge surplus. You are sitting with two agencies and wondering how to end world hunger, and how you plan to buy a rain forest and start greening it even better.

Remember when you have a lot of money, you have a choice of what to do with the money for world good. Imagine you are there sitting in a nice comfortable office and making such decisions.

Congrats, you are on your way to a great journey.

Go, skip a meal: Pick up Ekadesi as a day to skip a meal. Only water, maybe 2 bananas – one in the morning and one in the evening. Nothing else. It is a way of telling your body that ‘hunger’ does not scare me anymore. We are a pampered generation of urban rich who has a choice of a lot of foods – at home and as soon as we step out of the house. Apart from cooked food, we have fruits, etc. such a rich choice completely spoils us BUT MAKES US DEPENDENT and perennial sugar cravers. Stop craving – it is a sign of conquering your body’s requirement.

Go, take the public transport: Most of us start life using the public transport. A few years into the car and we start making statements like ‘OMG how do people travel by train’. A slight nudge…you did it not long ago. Our body has completely lost the ability to take some pain, tolerance, patience, …so we believe ‘we cannot’. Actually go and take a train. Conquer the fear of ‘will I be able to live without a car’. One more exercise at conquering fear.

Imagine you just lost your job: Many people have fantastic plans of what they will do if they lose their jobs.  However, they are actually petrified that they will lose their jobs. Now. They have no action plan. If you think you have an action plan, do a test run. Now what would you do?  Who would you call and go and see? Make a list and then call them now whilst you still have your job.

Make your CV. Update your LinkedIn status. Enter all your skills. Call your previous bosses, call your ex colleagues. Find out how is the market for your skills. If your current salary is Rs. 15 lakhs and you find jobs worth Rs. 12 lakhs, relax. Talk to your boss and ask him what you can do to increase your salary. What skills do you need to learn? what attitude to change? talk to people who are parallel to your boss. Look at better jobs geographically. If you are in Pune, look at Mumbai. If you are in Mumbai, look at Dubai.

Go, read a book: It is inspiring to read books on leadership, courage (Shackelton?), thinking (Vivekananda)…there is nothing more inspiring than to read a book. You get the distilled leadership and experience of a successful man summarized in 2/ 3 days reading effort. It is a very very unfair equation, but hey it favors you.

Go get rich by reading such books.

Pay yourself first: read here:http://www.subramoney.com/2013/12/pay-yourself-first-means-what/

Shift to a more sensibly priced, lesser fuel guzzling car. If possible sell off the car and shift to public transport + Uber or Ola.

Give up white sugar: If you are the Museli, Corn flakes, bread jam break fast types, give up ‘branded’ breakfast. Most of them are laden with 60% sugar. Dramatically give up on addicting white sugar and shift to jaggery, honey, dates, raisins for your ‘sweet’ fix. An amazing array of choices are available. Sugar is addicting…see how quickly you can give it up.

BE willing to be unconventional…so rent a house, travel around in a cycle, eat vegan….see what all you are willing to do different from what you have been ‘taught’.

Go have fun.

You just got richer. The money will follow…