Yes, you've probably heard it before, even on this site. It's not just rhetoric, but an achievable lifestyle that many now, especially millionaires, enjoy. And as you've probably heard or read elsewhere, there are a multitude of ways you can achieve it. Sometimes it's an opportunity that someone else passed on. Sometimes it's years of research and trial and error before finding that particular formula that fits you best. But it is possible. As a former psychotherapist with a cognitive-behavioral background, I think that the best place to start is to look within your self (for a VERY brief synopsis on cognitive behavioral therapy see here). Don't take that as some "alternative" tree-hugging spiritual or romantic position. It's based on the theory, which I ascribe to, that changing the way you think leads to changes in the way you behave. However, it's also a two-way street. I can learn to change how I think about something by behaving differently.

Thinking Leads To Behavior

Let's look at the first route: changing how you think leads to changing your behavior. If you make it your goal to become a filthy rich millionaire, you may wind up telling yourself things that will lead you to take action toward that goal. For example, if you keep saying to yourself every day, "I believe that I have the ability and talent to start a business and I want to now," then you will most likely start doing the things necessary to start that desired business: coming up with an idea for a business, reading books on start-ups, researching properties, looking at interest rates on loans, meeting new people who have the same goals, looking for venture partners, etc. Or if you keep telling yourself that you are an interesting, likable, kind and caring person, then you will most likely do the things that make those self-affirmations come true: going to museums, attending plays, helping others in time of need, never bad-mouthing others, etc.

In both examples, the keys to successful behavior change will rely on repetition of the newly acquired mindset or frame of mind; that is, you have to keep telling yourself what you want to believe in order to be motivated to start taking action. It's the ground work or foundation from where you will build your (new) life via behavior changes. An underlying theme in T. Harv Eker's book, "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind," is that you must be in the proper thinking mode (or mind set) in order to position your life in the direction that you really want it to go. I highly recommend his book, if you haven't already read it.

Behaviors Lead To Thinking

The second route of setting your new mind set is more obvious: behavior can lead to changes in your thinking. This is a common way people learn and develop their frames of reference and ultimately their perception and views of the world. The easiest example would be when a child reaches for a hot pot on a stove with an open burner, he quickly learns that fire can burn and hurt. He never again has to touch fire or things that are in or near fire to see if it will hurt. He learned from his behavior. Similarly, if you keeping spending every cent you have right after you get your paycheck, even after yearly raises, and have nothing to show for it, then you might believe that no matter how hard you work, you will never get far in life. But if you change how you handle your finances - live within your means and invest in projects that make you money, for example - then you might just change the way you see your life and start looking at opportunities and possibilities, rather than hardship and failure. However, in this instance, it will take repetition to to reinforce the new way of thinking.

The One Two Punch

The goal of making money in your sleep can be achieved through the realization that changing the way you think can lead to behavior changes, and changing how you behave can lead to changes in how you think. If you stop thinking and believing that the only way to make a living is by getting a job and working 40+ hours a week and change it to believing that there are other ways to create wealth and income, then you will start seeing, finding, and practicing ways of earning passive income.

It's a slow process for most. Life changes usually are. The thoughts usually come quicker than the behaviors and rewards, in the beginning. But with time and repetition, the behaviors can become "second nature." You will start seeing news ways of living a free life. And you will start acting like you're already at the place where you want to be. That's good because it will only reinforce your thinking and you will start behaving the way you've always knew you could. If you've heard of something being a "vicious cycle"(e.g., depressive thoughts can lead to depressive behaviors which lead to more depressive thoughts, etc), well the opposite is a "productive cycle." That's what you'll be in when you've developed the mindset of being successful and free, and you keep doing the things that make you successful and free, which then reinforces your mindset of being successful and free, etc., etc., etc.... a productive cycle.

When you're in this productive cycle, creativity flows, passive income can be incorporated into your life, and you find yourself doing more of the things that keep this cycle going. It's a no brainer, then, to take the time to develop your blog, or submit and article that gets published on a site where you receive royalties; or get a commission for making referrals from your website; or to write a book about something that you have a passion for; or be able to live off the income from investment properties; or even see opportunities like uploading a mundane picture of your cat or some un-identified bird to a website that pays you commission from advertisements (see here and here...yes, even these lack-luster pics I took with my outdated digital camera have generated income!). You'll see the ways you can set up a system where, although there is much work and time involved to get started, the results are such that you never would have thought that it was possible to make money even in your sleep.

With a fresh new mindset, the possibilities are now apparent. No longer are opportunities for someone else with a better brain or deeper pockets. You can make money in your sleep. Get started thinking differently, because if you're not where you want to be, then your thinking hasn't worked for you.

Let go of the pride, give your ego a rest, take a chance on something different. You'll sleep better.

-RY