If you want to get rich, you absolutely must make use of some form of leverage to multiply your capabilities. Every single person who's ever gone from a humble beginning to major success has used some form of leverage to get there.

Most people don't realize that the rich people in this world are just the rest of us, but it's true. The only difference is that these folks have developed certain strategies and formulas, and they've learned how to apply them effectively and persistently. They're risk-takers. They set out to make things happen, and they've accomplished great things as a result. Otherwise, they're just as human as me and you. When you realize that rich people are no different from you, that's when you begin developing the awareness that you're capable of making all the money you want.

A lot of people just don't believe that's true – and as long as you believe you can't do it, you won't. So you have to get that straight right now, by understanding that every single rich person in this world uses leverage in one way or another. Rich people put on their pants the same way we all do – one leg at a time. They have no more hours in the day than you and I have. They're not physically stronger; what power they do have has all been granted to them by other people.

Leverage comes in various forms, and there are many different ways to use it. No two ways are quite alike, because each individual puts their own unique perspective into whatever leverage they use. Nonetheless, the principle of leverage is the same for everyone, and here's how we define it: leverage is any method or strategy that allows you to do more than you would ever be able to do on your own. You can use leverage to do the work of one person or one hundred. It's a way of multiplying your efforts. Again, not only are there different methods and strategies for producing leverage, but there are also different levels for using those strategies, too. The same strategy that can be used to generate $ 1,000 can also be used to generate $ 10,000 or $ 1,000,000.

Let's say you get involved in a distributorship that requires you to run ads in newspapers around the country. Some people will be content with running four or five ads at a time, bringing in an extra $ 100- $ 300 a week. They might work 30-45 minutes a day taking the messages off their machine, ending up with a very small, lucrative part-time business that makes consistent money. But distributors willing to leverage the same program in a big way, by posting dozens or hundreds of ads, can make millions using the very same formula. I've seen this happen more than once. These people think bigger and leverage the formula strenuously, pouring their time and energy into it, and make a helluva lot more than those who just want to make a comfortable living.

So what do you want to accomplish? Getting rich means different things to different people. You need to determine what it means to you. How much money do you really want to make? Then, more importantly, why do you want to make that money? That's what gives you the energy that you need. That's what helps you maintain that level of commitment you must have to go out there and do big things. Without it, you can't hang in when things go bad, or when things aren't working perfectly. And in business, nothing ever works perfectly.

Start looking for ways that rich people use leverage. You've heard the cliché that "you need money to make money." Well, that's one way of using leverage. If you had a million dollars in mutual funds, you could conceivably safely make 25% on your investment. Without ever touching the principal, you could be generating $ 250,000 every single year, year after year. Your money would be working for you so you don't have to work – or at least not work as hard. That's one utilization of the principle of leverage.

Think about hydraulics, which is based upon the incompressibility of certain fluids, especially water. With a hydraulic system, one person can pick up thousands of pounds with the push of a button. That's what leverage is all about. It's what the military calls a "force multiplier." It's gaining the maximum results from the minimum amount of time, work, energy, and effort. It gives you so much power and so much ability.

We're living in an age where average people have more power than ever before. Computer technology and the Internet allow you to reach millions of people very inexpensively. There are many more magazines you can advertise in now. Think of the offset revolution of the 1960s, where printing equipment kept getting cheaper and cheaper – and the cost of printing in bulk started dropping, so printers could print small quantities of magazines profitably. Now there are hundreds of different magazines on the market, whereas 50 years ago there were dozens. This allows small entrepreneurs people to service narrow niche markets that would have been impossible before, or at least very expensive to reach. This gives the average person the chance to compete effectively in the marketplace.

Here's another example that uses recent technological advances for leverage. I once read in Forbes Magazine about a small steel company that had 15 employees – but was successfully competing with large steel mills that had hundreds. The only way it could happen was because of recent technological advances. This company didn't manufacture any of their own steel; they just brokered it. They didn't have all the high overhead costs, because technology allowed them to do it with distribution and communication methods that helped them get their steel from other countries in the world where it's much cheaper than here.

A great way to use leverage is through direct mail. You can spend a week developing a sales promotion package, then send it out to thousands of addresses. Each of those pieces of mail goes to a prospect's house, knocks on the prospect's door, presents your sales message to that prospect, and does a good job of selling. All you have to do is call the printers and mailing house to be sure everything's created and they're all sent out properly. No actual salesmen are required.

Learn the principle of leverage and put it to good use. Start by determining what you're best at. We all have certain talents and abilities, so find out yours and focus on that end of the business. When your energy isn't scattered, it also becomes a form of leverage. Delegate the rest of your responsibilities to other people, so your time isn't spent putting out brushfires all day long.

Effectively using leverage starts with a certain level of awareness. First of all, be aware that the richest, most successful people in this world are just as human as you are. They have just as much time, and they're probably no smarter than you. They've simply learned how to use this principle of leverage, by finding some method or strategy that allows them to do more than they could normally ever do on their own. You can do the same.