So you want to know what it takes to become a millionaire? I will sum it up as determination. That is what it takes. I decided to find some profiles of people who became wealthy, and learn how they did it. But it's hard to find anything that explains in detail where they made their decisions and how they were able to execute. What I did find, however, were some pretty interesting articles. I think you'll agree that while there is no formula for financial success you can find some principles you should adopt to help you make your way through the world of self-made success.Let's start with some of the myths of modern self-made millionaires. Most of America's new millionaires did not make their fortunes from stock options earned working for Silicon Valley startups. The Silicon Valley elite are definitely sitting on a lot of money they keep rechanneling into new investments. In fact, I am surprised more wealthy people are not creating similar incubators in other large cities with a lot of talent.
If you have done any research on what it takes to become wealthy, you have probably stumbled across one or more articles about Steve Siebold. Now wealthy himself, Siebold spent decades interviewing millionaires to understand what makes them so successful and he shares what he learned in books and interviews .
One of the critical factors of success that Siebold found was that millionaires don't think about money the way most people do. The majority of us constantly fret about how hard it is to get money, even hating it. Most millionaires, on the other hand, think of money as a means to freedom, choices, and opportunity. In other words, they have very positive feelings about money.
To become wealthy you have to prioritize things carefully. Before you can save the whales, he says, you have to help yourself (grow your wealth). You don't have to love money, just don't hate it, fear it, or think of it as something beyond your reach.
Fear of failure is another problem holding people back. Many wealthy people have started businesses and failed at them. They don't give up because of failure. They simply find something else to do and keep going until they succeed. And what Siebold says next is really important: most self-made millionaires strike it rich after age 50. If you are in your 40s and fretting that you are a financial failure, don't worry. You have plenty of time left to make your mark in the world of success.
A lot of people are unsatisfied with Siebold's advice. Maybe it's the lack of a formula, a step-by-step plan. This very interesting article creates a profile of millionaires that explains in concise detail how they live, work, and manage their money. The key takeaway here is that they don't spend their money on luxury items and status symbols. They live frugal lives, work hard, and in many cases have spouses who are even stingier and more budget-conscious than they are.
The last point in that article is very important. It is summed up as "don't follow the herd" and talks about the panic stock market sell-off during the Great Recession of 2008. A lot of people lost fortunes during the recession because they abandoned their stock portfolios, walked away from mortgages (giving up their homes), and made other poor decisions.
Anton Ivanov was in his teens when he decided he would become wealthy and he followed through on his plan all the way through high school, saving the money he made at a local Subway. Instead of going into debt to get a college education he went into the US Navy and saved most of his income while taking long distance courses to earn a bachelor degree.
When the recession hit his stock portfolio Anton waited out the storm and eventually he was able to invest most of his remaining savings in a rental property. A few years later he bought a second property and he rents out part of it while living in his own part. These are modest homes that make money for him and he is now worth over $1 million. But he's not finished. He'll continue growing his wealth by making prudent, conservative investment decisions.
Still not satisfied? This New York Times article profiles millionaires in even greater detail than the articles above. Notice that millionaires are great savers. They deliberately live below their means, don't flaunt their wealth, and strive to invest their savings. They don't "save money to save" they "save money to invest". Money has to work for the millionaire, not the other way around.
Of course, there are many interesting stories about self-made millionaires. One of the more bizarre stories in my opinion is that of Asa Akira, a porn star who has made over 300 films and is now worth over $1.6 million. She is happy with herself and her life, although it's clearly not a life that all women would want to follow.
If that's a little too risque for you then consider the career of Nicholas Bredimus, who started out putting personal computers in hotels and rose up to become a big airline executive. But what made him a wealthy man was his idea for an electronic ticketing system that he developed in the late 1980s. His company quickly become the industry leader around the world in helping travel agents, hotels, and airlines manage their reservations.
We can say for sure that self-made millionaires find where their talents lie and leverage those talents to earn enough money to live on and invest. The dividing line is up to each of us. You have to decide how frugal a lifestyle you want to live because the secret to financial success is to spend less than you make regardless of how much you earn.
You don't need a 6-figure income to become rich. You just have to think of money as the means to the end, not the obstacle holding you back in life.
