If I want to increase my expenses, I first must increase my cash flow from assets to maintain this level of wealth. Take notice that it is at this pojntjhat I no longer am dependent on my wages. I have focused on and been successful in building an asset column that has made me financially independent. iTl quit my job today, I would be able to cover •JtymoritlTly expenses with the cash flow from my assets. My next goal would be to have the excess cash flow from my assets reinvestedjnto the asset column. The more money that goes into my asset column, the more my asset column grows. The more my assets grow, the more my cash flow grows. And as long as I keep my expenses less than the cash flow from these assets, I will grow richer, with more and more income from sources other than my physical labor. As this reinvestment process continues, I am well on my way to being rich. The actual definition of rich is in the eye of the beholder. You can never be too rich. Just remember this simple observation: The rich buy assets. The poor only have expenses. The middle classTjuys liabilities they think are assets. So how do I start minding my own business? What is the answer? Listen to the founder of McDonald's. CHAPTER FOUR Lesson Three: Mind Your Own BiutinedJ In 1974, RayJCjocjhej asked to speak to the MBA class at the University of Texas at Austin. A dear friend of mine, Keith Cunningham, was a student in that MBA class. After a powerful and inspiring talk, the class adjourned and the students asked Ray if he would join them at their favorite hangout to have a few beers. Ray graciously accepted. "What business am I in?" Ray asked, once the group all had their beers in hand. "Everyone laughed," said Keith. "Most of the MBA stu- dents thought Ray was just fooling around." No one answered, so Ray asked the question again. "What business do you think I'm in?" The students laughed again, and finally one brave soul yelled out, "Ray, who in the world does not know that you're in the hamburger business." Ray chuckled. "That is what I thought you would say." He paused and then quickly said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not in the hamburger business. My business is real es- tate." Keith said that Ray spent a good amount of time ex- plaining his viewpoint. In their business plan, Ray knew that the primary business focus was to sell hamburger fran- chises, but what he never lost sight of was the location of each franchise. He knew that the real estate and its loca- tion was the most significant factof in the success of each franchise. BasicaTlyTThe person that boughTthe franchise wasltlso paying for, buying, the land under the franchise for Ray Kroc's organization. McDonald's today is the largest single owner of real es- tate in the world, owning even more than the Catholic Church. Today, McDonald's owns some of the most valu- able intersections and street corners in America, as well as in other parts of the world.