Is it really possible for the “average Joe” to become a millionaire?
Don’t you have to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth, like Mitt Romney or Donald Trump, or win the lottery?
Is it hard to do?
Srully Blotnick (say that 10 times fast), in his book, Getting Rich Your Own Way, actually did a 20-year study to find 5 common traits of those 83 (out of 1057) middle-class workers that became self-made millionaires during those 20 years.
Guess what they found out? Which proven investment do you think they invested into to become a millionaire?
Real estate?
The stock market?
Their businesses?
Would you believe that it was NONE OF THEM? In fact, the investments actually slowed them down!
There were only 5 proven ways that helped EACH ONE become a millionaire. They were:
- Persistence
- Patience
- Doing “the nobler and pettier” aspects of their job
- Increasing non-competitive attitude towards the people with whom they worked
- Aside from their main career, investment activities consumed a minimum of their time and attention
Persistence – These people never gave up! They kept pushing forward and stayed in the same career path. Like Dori, they just kept swimming. They didn’t jump around from career to career. Instead, they focused.
How many of you believe you are persistent in your course of action?
Patience – They were patient in getting the results they wanted. Have you ever heard successful people say, “It took me 10 years to become an overnight success”? The scarcity emotion of impatience didn’t cause these people to make bad calls.
How could you be more patient?
Doing the Nobler and “Pettier” Aspects of Their Jobs – In other words, they weren’t too good to take out the trash…or in my household, change that poopy diaper. (Did Chris just say “poopy?” Gross!)
Are you using the excuse, “It’s just not my talent/unique gift to do that! I hope someone else will do it for me.”
Non-Competitive Attitude – Surprisingly (to many), these people didn’t have to step on others up the corporate ladder. They only competed with themselves to do excellent work. Even though they were interested in what their colleagues were doing, they only wanted to know how to improve their work. Ironically, many of these “millionaires” didn’t even realize they were millionaires when interviewed.
How could you use “Cooperative Capitalism” in your favor when dealing with colleagues or your “competitors?”
Investment Activities Required Minimum Attention – This came as the biggest surprise of all to the researchers. They expected to see some similar investment that was the “holy grail” of investments. To their amazement, the investments actually hindered their financial progress. They primarily made their money focusing in their careers.
What activities or investments are distracting you from making more money today?
So what are the proven ways to become a millionaire?
As you have seen above, it wasn’t an investment per se. It was investing in themselves to develop those habits of success. They patiently, persistently, humbly, cooperatively, focused on achieving success in their professions!
How has developing and applying these traits helped you?