Today’s economic world is fraught with uncertainty. Companies come and go in the blink of an eye. Employment is a gamble instead of a sure thing, even for experienced and talented workers. There is no solid ground. You could be replaced by someone cheaper, or have your job eliminated through consolidation, automation or outsourcing. The computer, one of the greatest technological advances in history, has increased efficiency to the point that fewer people are required to generate the same output. Manpower demands have been permanently altered. You cannot count on others; you can only count on you. That is today’s reality.

Yet most people still want someone else to do the planning and thinking. To create a job and security for them. Don’t count on it. Even governments run out of money. How should you plan your financial future? First, follow conventional wisdom. Live beneath your means. Save money. Do not purchase based on emotion or a sense of entitlement. Avoid get-rich schemes. They seldom, if ever, work. Don’t buy anyone’s line about wealth without working, or with minimal effort working part time at home. Coaching seminars and appropriate guidance may be helpful, but you cannot passively sit by and do nothing, dabble or merely spin yarns about your great ideas and plans. You must act. Hard work and persistence are tantamount. That is the formula applied by every successful entrepreneur, and invention has become a well-travelled path to financial independence without the necessity of manufacturing, distribution, hiring employees, or complying with government regulations. You have within you the power to create your own reality, and the patent system, properly used, richly rewards those who create, protect, and monetize inventions. By controlling the invention, you can control all downstream activities.