If you are like most people, you don't really think about the kind of income you earn. You go to work and get paid, and that's your income. But that is not passive income, so if you were to stop showing up at work tomorrow, they would promptly stop paying your salary, and your income would be gone.

On the other hand, the interest you get on money you put into a bank account would be passive income because they pay you just to let your money sit there in the bank. You don't have to do anything and they continue to add more money into your account each month. Of course, a savings account is probably one of the worst forms of passive income simply because the interest rate is so low that it would take a lot of money in the bank to give you a substantial passive income.

Money market accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs) tend to be somewhat better, but the interest rate on these is often still somewhat low. The higher the interest rate you can get on any investment, obviously, the better it will be for providing you with a usable passive income stream.

Research has proven wealthy people generally have commonalities. Prosperous people have certain thoughts about money and their ability to obtain wealth. Society teaches conventional wisdom; get a good education, and get a secure job. Unfortunately this conventional wisdom leaves ninety percent of the people still broke or working at age sixty-five.

The days are long gone when a person graduates college, gets a good secure job, works it for thirty to forty years and retires with a nice pension. Job security just isn’t what it used to be. Prosperous people don’t believe in working hard, they believe in working smart. And, they know they will never get rich working for someone else or in their own business where they have to be present for it to operate daily. True wealth is having money and the time to enjoy it.

Another terrible misconception that many people have is the idea of that income and wealth are synonymous. I'm here to tell you they aren't, and they never have been.

Income is defined as "an opportunity for consumption which is provided within a certain period of time, expressed by some set monetary amount." If you compare this to the definition of wealth , you can clearly see that the two are not the same. Yet, you would be surprised by the number of people, even those who make hundreds of thousands or millions per year, who think the two are the same.

A business owner’s exit is a once-in-a-lifetime transformation. We’re not talking about selling a house or a car. This is a complex process that requires the technical expertise of a team of trusted advisors. The key to any successful business exit is planning. It must begin with personal reflection on the part of the owner regarding what he or she wants out of the business exit. Only then can the owner, along with his advisors, design an appropriate exit strategy. The five (5) planning steps outlined in this article are designed to help business owners define their personal goals, understand all the transfer options and work with an advisory team to execute a successful business exit plan.

Step 1: Define the Personal Goals of the Owner
Since personal goals intertwine so closely with the daily existence of a private business owner, it only makes sense to begin with the basic albeit crucial question, “What do I want to accomplish with my business exit?” The answer seems obvious--make the most money after taxes and fees. Often, however, it isn’t this simple. Owners have nourished and raised their businesses from infancy; they typically care a lot about who will take the reigns. Family members might also be involved in the business. Their fate will also be dependent upon what the business owner ultimately decides.