According to McKinsey, the world's global net worth is valued at $510 trillion, and 0.01% of the world’s billionaires own 11% of this wealth. Many of these select elites had poor academic report cards in school, but their financial reports today are tempting.
Financial intelligence is one of the keys to their special reports.
When we look closely, academic intelligence may exalt you in class, but financial intelligence qualifies you for a Forbes list in the real world. Today, we'll touch on how to build your financial intelligence by looking through the lenses of these successful men.
But first..
What is financial intelligence?
Financial intelligence is a form of intelligence that makes you understand how money works, take care of, nurture and grow it. It's simply using your head to make money by being able to see where money is flowing to and taking advantage of it before others can see it.
Financial intelligence is a state of mind that makes you think and do things that attract wealth. Like Ayn Rand once said, "Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think."
Financial intelligence is a mindset.
Mindset is the starting point of financial intelligence. But unfortunately, people's beliefs about money are rigid, stiff and limiting, which makes them unable to see more than they should.
Fear has been the dominant factor that limits people. The fear of failing, making mistakes, and starting something big has stopped many money-making dreams from coming to life.
But optimism and perseverance are traits wealthy people exhibit. They rarely relent in their dreams until it lights up. Then, like Newton's mindset, they keep trying till the bulb lights up.
Additionally, this intelligence gives you a natural way of marketing or converting ideas easily into money.
Financial intelligence teaches you that it's one thing to make wealth and another to keep or sustain such wealth. Therefore, savings and investment become a priority because that's the right way to treat money.
A man with this intelligence knows that it may take thousands of years to reach his financial goal, so he's not afraid to take risks to gain more and directs his money into places others can't see.
Financial intelligence is a supernatural ability.
A man living in a city for ten years may complain about the lack of jobs and opportunities, while another man could step into that city and, in two months, create opportunities and jobs that'll employ the former.
Financial intelligence gave him the supernatural ability to see where others couldn't. So one man could see opportunities and create them; the other couldn't then blame the government for his misfortune.
The uncanny ability to see into the past, present, and future and predict where money is going is one of the supernatural abilities of financial intelligence.
Such a man understands that an accumulation of insignificantly small purchase decisions today will result in long-term consequences in future. Hence, he acquires assets that'll grow in value in future and brings more cash flow as a result and sells when his stock is about to reach its heyday.
Other abilities include the ability to discern, think creatively, negotiate, communicate, and market.
Discernment helps you see and know where money is flowing. Creative thinking helps you to come up with a plan or product. Negotiation helps you convince the bank or investor for funds because you can communicate your ideas through communication skills.
The final killer touch is the ability to market your product to your audience to rack up sales.
He seeks advice from experts or conducts research by looking at the past, calculating it with the present and determining the future. Due to this, he knows he must have financial education and become financially literate.
Building your financial IQ
Building financial IQ is simply empowering yourself with the right knowledge to make sound financial decisions. It's simply training your brain to see money and using your head to make money.
When you engage financially educated people in conversations, keep in touch with financial communities; learn financial language and ideas; attend seminars, programs, and study materials like books, audio, and articles like you're doing now, you’re simply building your financial intelligence.
Conclusion
Financial intelligence is like any other form of intelligence; the more you engage it through study, the better you become.
Wealthy men like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerburg and others know this secret, which is why they dedicate nothing less than 30 minutes daily to studying and improving.