During my encounters with highly wealthy and successful people, the number that have gone from poor to rich is overwhelming. What’s even more amazing is their personal stories, what they went through, and how they became what they are today.

Some remain very humble and by looking at them you would never imagine they are as wealthy as they really are. They still wear their old, beat up shoes, a dirty pair of jeans, and a rusty old pickup truck. Others, on the other hand, emanate success and you would be shocked to hear that just a few years prior their lives were anything but full luxury and freedom.

What’s incredible is that it seems those who go from poor to rich so to speak have many of the same qualities:

1. They have an undeniable desire to succeed
2. They do not accept failure as failure, and try again
3. They cannot be told “it can’t be done”
4. They take incredible risk

Sounds strange, but those who have nothing to lose have an advantage. A middle class person with an income that supports their family can’t really afford to take major risks in their lives, such as quitting their job to start their own business. Those who have no other option but to succeed, however, have a level of determination that can’t be measured.

Not so coincidentally, I’ve found that those who do take that giant leap of faith, quit their jobs and put their heart into their wealth building business have enormous success. It creates a “do or die” mentality that is needed to learn quickly and earn faster.

This makes an interesting dilemma. Any small business coach would highly recommend that you do not quit your job and that you focus onbuilding your business slowly. Once your business is capable of producing an adequate, sustained income that can support your lifestyle and then some, only then should you consider going “full-time.”

But, oddly enough, it seems that those people who have the inarguable certainty that they will succeed have a tendency to succeed. They see no other end result and they cannot afford to do anything but succeed.

This might sound a bit off topic, but you can learn how to start beekeeping and make a descent amount of money from it. In fact, in the United States alone, there is an estimated 200,000 beekeepers. While most are hobbyist, there are many profiting from the sweet taste of honey that bees make.

Believe it or not, there are beekeepers in that live in populated cities as well. Maybe people become beekeepers for an excuse to get outside or to become more connected with nature, or maybe it’s the just the thought of sharing your own home-made honey to friends, family and local businesses. Whatever the case, it just goes to show you that there are ways to make money doing whatever it is that you enjoy doing.

But there may be even grander reasons learn how to start beekeeping. As you may have heard, there is a serious shortage of bees, which is affecting nature in a number of ways. The role of the honeybee in particular is critical to the pollination of plants. No bees, no plants. No plants, no oxygen and food for many insects and animals. Due to this shortage, many beekeepers are losing their colonies and struggling to create their product. As a result, there’s a greater demand for bee-produced products.

So this hobby and small business opportunity certainly has its challenges, but there are others. For one, becoming a beekeeper can be difficult because there is no one way to do it. The methods, techniques and strategies depend completely on your environment and local conditions, and it can take some time to figure out how to run your farm. Then of course there are the angry little bees themselves that don’t really enjoy you putting them to work, so there’s the occasional bee sting.

That can all be avoided with proper equipment. To start beekeeping you’ll nee a little money up-front to invest in:

• Bee Hives, which have multiple pieces, including the box, frames, bottom board and cover and fume boards
• Fume Boards for your liquid bee repellent
• Entrance Reducers to close the hive entrances and protect the hive
• Bee Feeders to fill with syrup to keep your bees energized and healthy
• Smoker to relax and confuse the bees when you’re working around them
• Coveralls to protect yourself if the smoker fails

Beyond that, you just need your honeybees to start your beekeeping business.

Fresh, sweet honey and bee pollination is always in demand, and this could be one of those fun hobbies that just so happen to also be a lucrative business. But before you get started, check with your local government to find out the laws in your area.

If you’re ready to take the next step, download your complete guide on how to start beekeeping.

Calculating net worth is as simple as taking your assets and subtracting your liabilities. The number you have left over is the total amount of money you are worth today. The tricky part is correctly identifying your assets and liabilities. Your home, for example, can be both an asset and a liability.

Assets are those things that you own and have a monetary value. In other words, you can sell or exchange them for cash.

Liabilities are those things that cost you money.

As you calculate your net worth, you can put the equity you own in your home in the asset category, but the balance on the mortgage falls under liabilities. The same holds true for your car.

Assets Can Include:

• Cash and Bank Balances
• Certificates of Deposits (CDs)
• Stocks and Mutual Funds
• Retirement Accounts (401k and IRA)
• Home Equity
• Jewelry and Collector’s Items

Liabilities Can Include:

• Credit Card Debt
• Student Loans
• Car Payments
• Mortgage Balances

Once you have totaled these items up and figured out your net worth, you can more accurately plan your financial future. You know where you stand financially and what your next step should be – get out of debt or build more assets.

Once you have built assets that produce an income that exceeds your liabilities and personal standard of living, you can claim to have achieved financial freedom.