John Layfield’s book “Have More Money Now” which was published in 2003, caught my attention years ago when he had been on CNBC giving financial advice and even contributed to Fox News. John Layfield is also known as JBL, and was a professional wrestler; it was different seeing a professional wrestler in a suit giving a serious commentary about finances.
Layfield’s story is a little different. He never had to overcome being in debt, but he did go through many years of not having very much money. In fact there were plenty of times when he had no money. When he had to quit playing football he got into professional wrestling. However, wrestling for him was far from the glamour you see on television. He was paid $3.00 for one match when starting out. Sometimes he made $10.00 or $25.00 for a match. He gives a great account of the struggles he went through while trying to make it in the wrestling business.
John Layfield doesn’t mention in his book if he consciously made choices when he was younger that stopped him from accumulating debt. He just didn’t spend money he didn’t have. As he says many times in the book when referring to delayed gratification “have when you have”. If he had to live in a tent or go without heat he would do it. He only bought the necessities he needed with the money he had. Many of the promotions he worked for would provide him some kind of meager accommodations while he wrestled for them, but he wasn’t making much money at all back then. By living only on whatever cash he earned he saved himself from the problems of accumulated debt.
Some of the lessons learned in “Have More Money Now” by John Bradshaw Layfield
-Forget the past. Focus on the future. Whatever happened in the past can not be changed. Rather than sweating over what you should have done, focus on what you can start doing now. How can you reduce your expenses, increase your income, or increase your financial education?
-Don’t be average. Do what you care about and excel at it. If you are doing what you want to do, you will work at it much harder and that passion dramatically improves your chances of being successful.
-Delayed Gratification (“Have when you have”) Layfield stressed “living within your means” many times and he certainly practiced what he preached. For years he struggled to make enough money just to buy basics. Even though times were hard he never went into debt buying things he simply wanted. Part of his success came from avoiding the trap of debt.
-Poor choices and behaviors will cause debt. Layfield says, “The key to being out of debt is to first stop incurring debt”. Old habits have a tendency to lead you into spending more than you should be.
