Summary: Never Underestimate the Power of Starting Small When truly abundant living is our goal, it's easy sometimes to forget just how important the relatively small details can be. While keeping sight of the big picture, we shouldn't underestimate the difference that little things can make. For instance, how powerful would it be if a young person approached the way they think about money with the clear understanding that a dollar doubling every period for 20 periods will grow to $1,048,000. All that's required is the miracle of compound interest and a degree of patience. And what if that same young person realized that there's a world of difference in how that dollar grows if it is taxed as it's earned. They'd understand that a person who's paying 25% on that dollar each time it doubles will only end up with $72,000 instead of a million dollars. In addition, if those dollars are taxed in a 33% bracket, where the majority of people who pay state and federal income tax currently find themselves, they'll end up with just $27,000. Tax-deferred accounts just move that taxation to the back end where it can consume an impressive chunk of your money's growth. Individuals preparing for an abundant future can enjoy an undeniable advantage if they simply understand the power of: compound interest tax-free accumulation safe positive leverage; meaning the ability to control assets with very little of your money tied up or at risk in the asset Getting the seemingly small details right can make an exponential difference in the kind of future we'll eventually reach. It can mean becoming a multimillionaire or being the person who struggles to make it just a year into his or her retirement. Building a strong bridge between generations or people on begins with the equivalent of a small string and persistence as our ties become stronger. Here's a story to illustrate. It Started With A Boy and His Kite When Homan J. Walsh passed away in 1899, the newspapers in Lincoln, Nebraska wrote about how he had been a resident of the city, a former city council member, and a local business leader. But he was also recognized for a key role he played as a youngster in the building of first suspension bridge over the Niagara River in New York State. In the fall of 1847, a civil engineer named Charles Ellet Jr. from Philadelphia was commissioned to build a suspension bridge over the Niagara Gorge. This new bridge would allow a road to be built that would connect the United States and Canada. Ellet's biggest challenge was that, up until that point, no one had built a suspension bridge over a thousand feet in length. The raging rapids in the gorge below presented a gigantic obstacle in getting the first line or wire across the gorge so that subsequent, larger wires could follow. Someone surmised that a kite could safely carry the initial line across the gorge and a prize was put up for the first boy to successfully fly his kite and the line across to the opposite bank. In January of 1848, Homan J. Walsh joined the other youngsters in the kite-flying contest. Unlike the others, Walsh first took a ferry to the Canadian side of the river so he could take advantage of the prevailing winter winds. Late at night, when there was a lull in the wind, he successfully flew his kite high across the river to the American side. But the line that was attached to his kite string broke. Now Walsh found himself stranded in Canada for the next 8 or 9 days as river ice prevented the ferry from taking him back to the U.S. side. Finally, he returned to the American side and retrieved his kite. A few days later, Walsh went back to Canada and this time he successfully flew his kite to the U.S. side with the line attached. The line was tied to a cord that was pulled across from the American side and this time the line held. The new bridge could now be built. The suspension bridge was completed on July 26, 1848.
