I set a goal in early adulthood to acquire a million dollars in assets before retiring. It's no longer the lofty goal it was back then, but still a benchmark I want to have in my trophy case before walking away.

I am confident I will get there someday; I just need to keep doing what works: thinking out of the box, searching for new opportunities, and listening to those that know.

I'm not an expert - lets get that out of the way. This is a collection of observations from a battle scarred soldier, not the General. Yet there are a few simple things I have learned along the way that are worth repeating and remembering.

These are the 7 Crucial Lessons I've learned.

1) Jobs don't make you rich, they pay the bills.

A great paying job is a wonderful thing. It brings peace of mind and with careful money management removes the worry of debt.

But it will not make you rich. To achieve that goal you will need to put extra time into doing something for yourself. Some employers provide stock options as a benefit. That at least can be a starting point.

Ultimately you will have to search for extra-curricular opportunities to enhance your holdings. A simple rule of thumb prevails here: wealth is a measure of assets, not income.

The gains on a job are direct and limited, because the correlation between time and income is fixed. Your earnings will always be limited by your time.

More on that in a moment.

2) Homes and cars are not investments.

I can hear some screeching out there on this one. It's a balance book thing. If that home or car returns more income or equity than the value of your dollars spent acquiring it and maintaining it, then you are the exception. And tax returns are not income, they are preservation of earnings. So that healthy tax return does not make your home an investment.

Think of it this way: if you are in a 30% tax bracket and you pay $1,000 in monthly interest on your home, you get the equivalent of $300 per month back on your tax return. That's a losing proposition, not a winning one. You're $700 poorer each month for that "investment".

That said, buying a home is a good move for several reasons including: security for your family, protection from rising real estate costs, and something of an inefficient savings account for retirement. If you can buy a home and have payments that are in the range of rent, you come out ahead.

Don't make the mistake of over-purchasing in the name of investment. It doesn't work.

You will find better returns on your money than the real estate you live in.

3) Your time is limited, and it is your most valuable asset.

Look for things in your life that consume your time, are repetitive in nature, and can be improved upon. Then find ways to decrease the time required to complete them. Do this at work and you will probably get promoted.

An African village found prosperity by simply installing a pipeline to their water source and putting a hand pump on the end of it. Their water source was almost a mile away and they were spending something on the order of 30% of each day retrieving water in buckets.

It's a simple example of this principle, but a powerful one.

Find ways to do more in less time.

This African pipeline is a simple machine, which leads to the next point.

4) Machines produce far more than individuals do.

Buy one, make one, acquire one. If you are in a position where your income is directly correlated to the time you put into earning it, this is important.

Machines come in many different forms, probably the most simple of which would be a pulley or lever. Both leverage input and output of force in a way that allows one man to do the work of many men. Machines can be companies, websites, computer programs, organizations, or any other entity that changes the ratio of force you personally apply to what you ultimately produce

Look for opportunities to build a machine. Machines require time to build and maintain. But if built correctly, will return many times the investment required to build and or maintain them.

Machines decouple the direct one to one correlation between income and hours.

Avoid the trap and seduction of high hourly/salary pay as your entire stake in your investment portfolio. See "Jobs don't make you rich" above.

5) It's going to rain someday, be prepared.

I have a couple of older friends who were very financially successful during the course of their productive careers. I enjoy any opportunity I have for discourse with them. They are filled with life lessons and sage advice. They have been there and conquered. When we discuss finance related topics they are the fountain of knowledge.

They tell me many things, but there is one thing they both tell me repeatedly and often: put 10% of what you earn in the bank.

Pay yourself before you pay anyone else, and if you have to lower your standard of living to do so, do it.

Opportunity rewards those that react quickly. In addition to being prepared for that rainy day, there may come a time when you will want to build a machine to pursue an opportunity. Be prepared.

6) Water on the horizon is almost always an illusion.

There are 10,000 people out there who will share their 'considered' advice and experience for a price. Reality has to come into play here since many have made their fortunes selling that advice. Some even go as far as to show you their earnings. (selling that advice.)

Some opportunities that look like large bodies of water and sustenance end up being illusions that run from you as fast as you run toward them.

In spite of this, there are many good mentors out there and some come at a price.

Spend time researching your options and evaluating the opportunities that come your way.

Talk to people who have been to the water. See if it benefited them. Find out what pitfalls they encountered. See if they have found other opportunities that were more fruitful.

Quick footnote: seminars are not research. You will need to invest your own time into this process, do not rely on others. Which leads to my final point.

7) There was only one Midas.

And you are not him.

Get used to it and prepare for a lot of work. If you really want to do this and don't manage to win the lottery you're going to bust your tail getting it done.

It will be worth it.

Set your goals, track them, continue to do what works. The things that work return rewards, the other stuff - no matter how much you may like it - does not. Don't waste your time on the "does not" even if you think it's a great idea.

I know my goal is a big one, but I have been close and one day soon I will achieve it.

I will be rooting for you if you choose this pursuit as well. Maybe we will meet one day next to that water source.