David Bach, author of the Automatic Millionaire, coined the term “the latte factor” in his book Finish Rich.
It’s a devilishly simple idea.
It basically states that the small, trivial things we spend money on everyday add up to an extremely large amount over time.
He uses lattes to illustrate how something we have gotten used to buying daily, could be better used to build great wealth.
Lattes, cigarettes, alcohol, even soft drinks are all examples of habitual, unconscious spending.
A few bucks here and there might not make much difference at the time, but if you were to calculate our the costs of your spending over a lifetime, you’ll often be surprised how much you are letting slip through your fingers.
Instead, invest the money and let the 8th wonder of the world (as Einstein once called it) take effect; compound interest.
Now how does this all tie into what I call the Flossing Theory?
I’m glad you asked.
As the latte factor shows, most of us are unaware of just how our daily spending habits are affecting our financial outlook. I’d like to take that one step further and state that most people don’t realize the effects their daily habits are having on themselves and their future.
The fact is, most people want to become rich, lose weight, get in shape, master a skill…overnight.
While we all know this isn’t possible, deep down we want to believe it is.
That’s why each year billions are spent on all sorts of products because so many of us aren’t willing to invest the two things we should:
- Time
- Effort
Secretly, we hope that by buying this or that we’ll somehow be able to avoid hard work and that results will happen overnight. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts in life.
And that’s why I came up with the Flossing Theory.
In dealing with people and studying success, I have come to realize that it’s often the little things that separate the winners from everyone else.
I love the example of race horses to illustrate this.
The champion race horse walks away with millions while the runner-up, which at times is only a fraction of a second behind, earns much less. It’s that little extra that makes all the difference.
To me flossing is something that illustrates people’s desire to achieve.
We all know that flossing is good for us. Moreover, it takes less than a minute to do…and yet, very few people actually do this on a regular basis.
Why? Well, it’s a pain…it’s tedious…and since it’s not really necessary why bother?
Why bother indeed.
Like the latte factor, if we could look at the results long term we’d see a big difference between flossing and not flossing. It could possibly be the difference of having healthy teeth and gums and needing a root canal costing hundreds of dollars.
So when new clients come to me, if I see they are having trouble getting results, I start them out on with my flossing challenge: 30 days without missing a single day of flossing.
Some people look at me and think I’m crazy, but I’m deadly serious.
I want to know just how dedicated they are to success.
I mean, everyone can floss, but very few do. People, in every field, need to be willing to do the little things that set them apart from their competition.
I have 3 businesses at present and with each I go the extra mile because I know most people won’t bother.
Do you have what it takes to succeed?
If so, take me up on my challenge. 30 days…flossing…could change your life.
Adrian Shepherd