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The Oxford dictionary defines net worth as “the total wealth of an individual, company, or household, taking account of all financial assets and liabilities.”
Investopedia defines net worth as “the value of the assets a person or corporation owns, minus the liabilities they owe.”
However, Wikipedia has the best definition of all three, defining net worth as “the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all outstanding liabilities.”
This definition most closely aligns with the Youniqorn mindset of wealth, value, and net worth. Because, as we’ll talk about in more detail below, net worth is not only financial. It is about all value.
So, basically, your net worth is everything you have that is valuable (assets) minus everything you owe/have to forfeit to someone else that is also valuable and, therefore, not yours (liabilities).
To illustrate this solely through finances, if you have $80,000 in investments and savings, a paid off house worth $300,000 and business loans amounting to $50,000, your net worth will be the sum of $300,000 plus $80,000 minus $50,000 which will come to $330,000.
As you can see from this oversimplified example, liabilities can significantly decrease your net worth, particularly if they are high. So, increasing or skyrocketing your net worth involves increasing your assets, and decreasing or altogether eliminating your liabilities. Debt of different forms (student loans, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, etc.) makes it exponentially harder to build wealth and increase your net worth because so much of your income has to go toward paying off what you owe and eliminating that liability. The higher your debt(s), the harder it is to skyrocket your net worth. You need to be debt-free to truly skyrocket your net worth and increase it exponentially—not just marginally. If you still have a lot of liabilities, your first step in skyrocketing your net worth will have to be focused on eliminating that debt and removing that liability from your slate. That should be your number one and immediate focus and target. Give yourself a window and a hard but realistic lifeline (we don’t use the word “deadline” here) to get it completed by and come up with a plan of action to eradicate that debt and act on it consistently. You’ll find yourself chipping away at it and it may feel slow, especially in the beginning, but when you do it consistently you will gradually and surely see the cumulative effects of your efforts.
During this process, you will also learn how to better manage your money, which is absolutely necessary and fundamental in building wealth. If you do not know how to manage small sums of money, you will not know how to manage large sums, and this is imperative if you intend on skyrocketing your net worth.
*NerdWallet is a great resource for figuring out how to approach, begin, and implement your journey to becoming debt and liability free. The sooner you do this, the sooner you’ll be on your way to skyrocketing your net worth. So, do it now. Don’t wait to do it later even if it feels overwhelming or soul-crushing. It will not magically go away on its own simply because you choose to ignore it. Conversely, your debt will continue to accumulate as interest piles on, and you will end up owing far more than you ever borrowed in the long run, making it that much harder to build true wealth and skyrocket your net worth in your lifetime. So, you must tackle it.
Getting an accountability partner who will keep you accountable to continuously chipping away at your debt is imperative even if you’re good with money but have outstanding debt that’s significant, but especially if you aren’t so good with managing your money and are still learning how. You don’t have to go at it alone. Seriously. Money is a sensitive topic for a lot of people, and most of us would rather not air what we perceive to be our dirty laundry about what we owe and how much we owe to others. But finding somebody you trust and who has your best interest at heart to help you through this process will make it exponentially easier and far more likely that you’ll stay the course to become completely debt-free.
The other pillar of skyrocketing your net worth is obviously increasing your assets as mentioned above. Increasing your assets comes down to two things: What you know and Who you know. It’s really as simple as that. If you want to increase your assets and your net worth, it follows that you need to “increase” what you know and who you know. If you take that sort of methodological approach, things become a lot less complicated and a lot more simplified and straightforward. It may sound overwhelming, especially if this is not something you have consciously thought of before or, if you have, haven’t actually acted on. It’s normal to feel unsure of something you’ve never done before, especially if you don’t know anyone else in your real life who has, but don’t let that intimidate you into inaction. Instead, let the excitement of venturing into positive uncharted territory motivate you into taking action and taking action consistently.
So, then, the question becomes: how to increase what you know and who you know.
It must be said, first and foremost, that both who and what you know should level up your life. Not downgrade it or add such insignificant/marginal value that it’s not worth the pursuit and time/energy/emotional investment. This bears repeating because it is that fundamental and important. Who and what ever you’re adding into your life must, in fact, be an addition. As in, it adds value, substance, enhances your life and significantly improves your standard of living. Basically, without those things (knowledge and skills) and people, your life would be that much worse off, as would you. If you’re better off or even no worse/better off if something/someone is removed from your life, then they were never an addition. They were a distraction at best and a subtraction at worst. So, you have to learn to be quite aware and strategic about who and what you add into your life and spend your time and limited resources on. Ensure that who and what you are adding into life is actually an addition. This is key and cannot be overstated, so please drill it into your head and make it an ongoing, lifelong principle and lesson. Developing this habit and aptitude alone will propel you so much higher in skyrocketing your net worth in all aspects of your life.
Following that statement, it’s important to be aware that is impossible to know what to add in your life if you don’t know what you want to add into your life. And it’s impossible to know what you want if you don’t know who you are, but more importantly, who you want to become. Learning who you are (and you’re not) is an ongoing process for sure, but you need to know who you want to be on a fundamental level at any given time. Learning and knowing who you are is a good and important thing and one you should absolutely strive for. But learning, discovering, and knowing who you want to become is, perhaps, the greatest thing you can do for yourself, because every decision, pursuit, choice and venture you make or undertake follows from that. For more depth and detail on this topic, read The Subtle Art of Becoming Yourself.
Once you know who you fundamentally want to become and, therefore, what you fundamentally want, the “who you know” tends to fall into place quite easily. You will be naturally drawn to those share your mindsets, outlooks and values like a moth to light and will generally diverge from those don’t. It will come fairly easy and feel simple. Just as it’s important and necessary to know who you’re not and do not want to become in order to know who you are and want to become, it is necessary to know the characteristics and traits of people you do not want in your life and space to learn and be aware of those you do. This is something you would benefit from greatly by actually writing it down. Actively thinking and processing information through your own raw text (handwriting) allows you to genuinely and deeply think about what is and is not important to you, and the types of people you actually want to be around, not the types of people you think you should be around or are expected to be around (by family, friends, colleagues, etc.) Only you have the capacity to know who you truly align with because only you have the capacity to know what is in your mind and in your heart.
Seek out people who are where you want to be. Trust and believe, even if it doesn’t seem like it, especially if you’re just starting out, there are plenty of people who have been where you are and made the journey and arrived at where you want to be. Learn from them and actually listen. One of the easiest and most efficient ways to do this is to read books from women, men, and children who have done/are still doing what you want to do and have succeeded and continue to succeed/excel at doing that. Remember, reading is one of the top 10 habits of wildly successful people. If you want that sort of wild success and your net worth to skyrocket, you need to develop this habit. Read varied, but also be intentional and selective about the books and material you spend your time on because there are practically an infinite number of books, and you have very limited, precious time.
The internet has made human communication and connection unprecedentedly fast, easy, far more streamlined and accessible. Now, more than ever, you have the opportunity to actually connect with people all over the entire world you likely would never have been able to, otherwise. You have to reach out because you are the one who needs help, guidance, assistance, and mentorship from those who are already there. It might feel intimidating, but do not allow fear to paralyze you into inaction. Use your excitement about your dreams, desires and ambitions to develop that skill of boldness to go after what you want and to take risks that are far more likely to pay off (another habit of wildly successful people) because if you don’t make the choice to do it, guess what? It simply won’t get done and you’ll be no closer to adding anyone of value into your life and certainly no closer to skyrocketing your net worth. In the same vein as not being afraid to reach out, also don’t be afraid to ask. Ask them for help, advice, mentorship, moral support, and questions. Understand that you’re asking for guidance and help, not for them to do your work for you. You still need to show up and show out and take action again and again and again (yes, another habit of wildly successful people). You cannot expect anybody else but you to do your own work for you and push for your own success. Even the best of allies and mentors cannot have your back more than you have your own back. So, you must be your number one advocate, support system, cheerleader and motivator.
Develop the habit of meeting people. Specifically, people who are worthwhile to you and what you want for your life and the person you want to become. Practice this for both new and familiar connections. Do it intentionally and consistently (for example, committing to meeting and connecting with one new person in your career/industry/social group every week/month). A great way to do this is through apps and sites like MeetUp. The more people you know (who add positively you and your life), the more value and overall worth you acquire because you will be tapping into their net worth by association in all its aspects.
It is important to know that money is a byproduct of value. It is not valuable in and of itself. Understanding this is fundamental for understanding wealth-building and skyrocketing your net worth. So, in order to get more money, it follows that you need to create, foster or otherwise provide value to someone else, enough that they’re willing to part with their money and pay you for it. It’s also important to note that value comes in so many forms and packages and does not look like one thing. What may be valuable to one person is worthless to another and vice versa. The point is not to try to provide value to everybody, but to find your niche; that is, your selective audience that sees and finds value in what you do. You need to know – meaning, learn – how to create/edit/amend/repackage/promote and/or market value that people are not just willing, but happy and eager to part with their money to get from you time and time and time again. This value must be in a form that is sustainable to build true generational wealth, because you need your income to be ongoing and unattached to your time. Not a one-time, one-off thing. So, in order to do that, you need to learn skills and information required to create that value and actually implement them. Again, be selective in what you choose to learn and ensure that it adds value to your life and the lives of those like you. Read How to Learn Anything (But Not Everything) and How to Turn Your Hobby into Your Hustle.
Even though most of this post has been about finances, it’s important to note that net worth is not only financial. It’s emotional, mental, physical and spiritual/ethereal. Again, that should make sense based off the previous paragraph because money is not valuable in and of itself. Currencies are derived from what we find both emotionally and functionally valuable, desirable, and appealing. This is why there are many people happy to spend their hard-earned money on $200,000 cars, million-dollar mansions, and even $500 hairdryers. Value is in the eye of the beholder. Again, one (wo)man’s trash is another (wo)man’s treasure and vice versa. This is why adding the right people in your life enhances not just your finances, but your emotional well-being, mental welfare and physical health, as well, which are all invaluable because, without them, you truly have nothing. You will naturally tap into the emotional and mental net worth of those around you and those you choose to have in your life, either directly or indirectly. So, if you add women, men, or children with a negative emotional and/or mental net worth, understand that you will be tapping into a deficit and, therefore, subtracting from your current emotional and mental net worth. Naturally, your financial and physical net worth will follow. So, be extremely particular about who you add in your life and who is permitted into your personal space and make no apologies for that. At the end of the day, it’s your life and cumulative net worth on the line. Do not allow anyone else to downgrade your standard of living and well-being or convince you to settle for or be content with mediocre financial, emotional, mental and physical net worth. Remember, at the end of the day, you are the one responsible and accountable for your life and what does and does not happen through the duration of it. You are in charge of your own destiny because you are in charge of your own choices. So, make those in your best interest and put yourself first. Understand that you must also add to the lives of those you want in yours positively. You cannot simply expect to receive positive net worth and not give any in return. There must be balance and positive exchange. The fallacy that one must lose in order for another to win is just that: a fallacy. It is a dichotomous mindset that is extremely dangerous and, frankly, full of shit. Netting positively in the life of another who nets positively in yours only enhances both your lives because that positive exchange creates a positive feedback loop and the sum of the two positives ends up being greater that the two individual positives on their own. Positively adding to the life and well-being of someone else who’s also on their journey to skyrocket their net worth (financially, physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, or a combination of any and all of these) reinforces your own sense of self, and enhances your confidence and emotional well-being and, therefore, your net worth.
So, you see, paying it forward actually increases your net worth even more. It doesn’t take it away or diminish it in any way or fashion. Truly successful people know and understand this and are generous with their knowledge and help because they want to see other people win and fly to their heights of success and net worth, as well. Shared success is much sweeter than solo success and pretty much ensures the continued thriving for all involved. Wildly successful people fundamentally get this so, it is in their interest to see you succeed and win so that they have one more person to share and experience the joy of built wealth and net worth with. This is even more reason why you shouldn’t be afraid to approach already successful folks and ask them for help to get to where they are. You will be surprised at just how willing they are to do that and more for you. But again, you also have add to their lives positively. Everyone must bring/add to the table and do so consistently in some way, shape, or form for the duration of the relationship. Even if you think you don’t, you always have something to give (oftentimes as simple as a compliment), just as you always have something to learn and receive. Doing both consistently will, no doubt, in time, skyrocket your net worth.
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