How to Become a Millionaire
Lotto vs. Lightning?
Wealth creation isn’t as easy as buying a lottery ticket. (Your chances of winning the lottery vary depending on which lottery you play, but as a rule of thumb you are still 6 to 45 times more likely to die from being struck by lightning than you are to win the lottery.) In fact, winning the lottery will never make you wealthy!
Wealth is defined as “having wealth”, “being affluent”, and “characterized by abundance”. Too many people focus on the money and not the abundance. That is why most of the people who do win the lottery lose all their money and end up miserable. In a 1999 survey conducted by the Consumer Federation of America and Primerica, 40% of Americans with incomes between $25,000 and $35,000 — and nearly one-half of respondents with an income of $15,000 to $25,000 — thought winning the lottery would give them their retirement nest egg. Overall, 27% of respondents said that their best chance to gain $500,000 in their lifetime is via a sweepstakes or lottery win.
“If Americans understood that their chances of winning a big lottery jackpot were 10 to 20 million to one but that they could accumulate hundreds of thousands of dollars through regular saving, more families would put the $50 away rather than spending it on gambling or unneeded consumption,” said Joseph Plumeri, chairman of Primerica.
In our culture, there is a widely held belief that money solves problems. People think if they had more money, their troubles would be over. That’s not necessarily true. There are two components to money. The first is the psychology of money (i.e.; how you feel about money). The second is the rules of money like tax codes, money allocation, etc. The goal is to form a wealth creation plan that integrates the two components.
Research has shown that wealth creation has nothing to do with luck, education or intelligence. The truth is that wealthy people understand the principles of accumulating wealth and simply put them into action. Like most things in life, wealth begins with a decision. You must choose to build wealth. If you don’t control your money, money will control you! Controlling money simply means taking responsibility for what you have. You need to know where your money comes from, how much you have, and where it’s going.
Wealthy people use the “pay myself first” principle. They usually take 20% from their earnings and bank it or invest it in a separate account every payday for absolute emergencies. These untouched savings accounts earn compound interest (interest on interest) and their money keeps increasing.
Strive to increase your income and reduce your expenses. Giving freely of your time, money and resources to those less fortunate contributes immensely to society and is your guarantee of receiving love, joy and peace. If everyone contributed in this way abundance would be commonplace.
Don’t believe me? Here’s what some of the most successful business leaders have done.
- First, you must do work you love and focus on more than money. American industrialist, John D. Rockefeller, who defined the structure of modern philanthropy said, “The man who starts out simply with the idea of getting rich won’t succeed, you must have a larger ambition.” Sir Richard Branson, of Virgin fame advises “Have fun, work hard and money will come. Don’t waste time – grab your chances. Have a positive outlook on life. When it’s not fun, move on.”
- Second, spend less than you earn & invest the difference. Sound too simple? Warren Buffett one of the most successful investors in history (and one of the richest men on Earth) says that “there seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.” Of course Buffett filed his first income tax return, deducting his bicycle and watch as a work expense for his work as newspaper delivery boy at age 13!
- Safeguard your assets from loss and provide in advance for the needs of old age/retirement and the protection of your family. If you make millions of dollars but fail to protect it you can still end up with nothing! American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, and successful entrepreneur George Foreman has been quoted as saying “The question isn’t at what age I want to retire, it’s at what income.”
- Work hard. News flash—if wealth creation was easy everyone would be wealthy! Becoming wealthy is a simple process, but not an easy task. This is mostly because people are not committed to wealth creation and do not do what is necessary to become wealthy. Andrew Carnegie, one of the most famous captains of industry, who went from ‘rags to riches’ claimed that “…the average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.”
Remember, when it comes to wealth creation and attaining the millionaire mindset, hope is not a strategy. Follow in the footsteps of other wealthy individuals and observe the rules of money and you will be on your way in no time.
About the Author
Anthony Sills, M.B.A. formerly traded FOREX from the Atlanta Financial Center and has worked for stock advisory services, brokerages, Fortune 100 companies, and national banks. Mr. Sills is currently a licensed loan officer and freelance writer. You can reach him at anthony@professionalpenwriters.com.
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