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| Steps to become a millionaire |
Most of my life I've been obsessed with success and financial freedom. Like you and others, I didn't come from money and didn't have a great deal of direction, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. It turns out millionaires are like everyone else--but they have a lot more money. When asked about their secrets to success, they don't cite anything magical or rare, but rather the steady application of wise investing strategies, hard work, and, believe it or not, a degree of frugality. Here are the top 10 steps I took on my way to becoming a millionaire:
10 Steps to Becoming a Millionaire:
1.) Be Frugal! I didn't buy my first nice watch until I was 30 years old and always bought cars well beyond my means. While I saw others creating a little success and then spending money like they had great deals of success. Now don't get me wrong I love my watches and cars but put them off until you have lots of dough put away and your business is rolling strong! Learn how to live way below your means, bank or invest the rest and delay gratification. This way you will be able to handle situations that you didn't plan on.
2.) Make Financial Success a Priority. Lots of people say they want to be successful but let's face it most don't get there. Success seems to end up with those that are most committed to having it. I made success a priority and even approached it as my duty, obligation and responsibility. As though it was vital to my existence.
3.) Work harder and longer than everyone else. The discipline of work as an ethics matter is lost on our culture today. Working hard for a week or so means nothing. It's vital that you create a discipline to work everyone else under the table. Success is not a journey for most people it is a marathon. Prepare everyday to go the extra mile, make the extra call, have that extra meeting and you'll soon be on your way to becoming a millionaire.
4.) Pay cash for everything you're able to. I've never taken a business loan until I started buying real estate. This forced me to continue to drive new revenue into my business for my expansion. I see lots of people start in business by first buying equipment and things that they think they need in order to run a business. What's going to make your business work are customers and revenue not printers, computers, and copiers. I didn't take loans out until I started buying real estate and only did so when the properties paid off the debt of the properties.
5.) Eliminate All Options. Probably the single thing that kept me going when it was most difficult was the fact that I knew this was it for me. I treated my speaking business like it was my only option and my only choice and what I was meant to do with no other options available to me. When you have no other options, you'll make the most of what you do have!
6.) Believe You Can Do It. This doesn't mean that you won't have doubts and insecurities. I have doubted myself most of the way up and still have moments where I question myself today. But through all of it, I continue to tell myself that I can do it, that others with less desire and skill than me have done it before. In becoming a millionaire, what helped me most was I continued to go to workshops and read books that continued to allow me to believe in me.
7.) Formulate your vision for success. "I want to be rich." and "I want to be successful." are too vague and also focus on wanting rather than being! Constantly, I write my goals down and even draw pictures of how I want things to be. I would take a poster and draw (and I can't draw) images of how my life was going to be. When I write, I'm very specific too. I'll write, "I own 2500+ apts that earn over 12% Cash on cash return." or "I speak at 100+ paid speaking engagements a year."
8.) ALWAYS Use Multiple Lines of Attack. In order to get one thing done, never rely on one avenue or line of attack to get it done. Always use multiple angles in order to accomplish any one thing. When approaching a client, I never assume the one line of attack will get the client and look for every way possible to add other actions that will give me one that's successful and a step closer to becoming a millionaire.
9.) Dominate Don't Compete. Whatever you love to do, then do it in a way that dominates that space. Don't be a player in the game, BE the game. Be in so many places and so involved that everywhere your competitors and your clients go they hear or see you. I'm not talking about work here I'm talking about being everywhere in such a way that others can't even imagine how to compete with you.
10.) Quit Thinking in Shortages. A million dollars may seem like a lot of money to you but the reality is there is no shortage of money on this planet. There is a shortage of people going for it, a shortage of people committed, a shortage of passion, but not a shortage of money. Trust me, a million dollars is not only not that much but probably not enough to retire on and certainly won't qualify you as rich.
Although becoming a millionaire may seem like a hard goal to attain. The reason most people don't ever reach it is because they're lacking in one or more of the above steps. Success is never an easy thing to achieve, but it's always a possible thing to achieve. Avoid the get rich quick schemes. Don't chase the easy money. Follow these 10 steps to becoming a millionaire, and in no time the next piece of advice you'll seek is how to become a multi-millionaire.
Grant Cardone, author of Sell To Survive, is being called The Entrepreneur for the 21st Century. Starting from modest beginnings, he is now the founder and owner of three multi-million dollar companies: a successful software company, a sales training and consulting business, and a real estate company with a portfolio valued at over 100 million dollars. Cardone also speaks internationally to industry leaders, managers, CEOs and entrepreneurs on sales, money, finance, business strategies and business expansion. Visit Click here