This is an indirect HOW-TO motivational guide.
Use the lessons provided to CHANGE your way of thinking and LEARN to be successful (it's an earned status, not a gift).

First of all, when I use the term "millionaire" I'm really referring to very successful people. I use the term millionaire because it's become a term synonymous with wealth and success. BUT, the fact is, a millionaire may not be our idea of successful in today's world. My use of the term DOES NOT include and should not be construed to include an average income individual who inherits $500,000 from his parents or collects a large insurance settlement or something similar. Instead, I want to discuss the concepts and definitions or things we actually have a higher level of control over. And because this guide could become very lengthy if I include ALL the major differences between normal folk and millionaires, I'm just going to focus on a few.

Let me begin with a brief story... an analogy. A small boy and his friends come to a ditch on path through the woods to a place they've been told has a lush blackberry patch. It seems as though the only way to the other side is to jump 8 feet over the mud filled ditch to reach the other side. The boy leaps feeling confident he has sprung far enough to WOW his friends. Instead, he falls just short and covers his clothes in mud. The boy climbs out (back to his friends --who at this point are laughing histerically) and gets a running start. But this time, on his approach he trips on a vine and falls before he ever reaches the ditch. Again, he pulls back ... takes a good look at all his surroundings, and with great haste he leaps to the other side.

This is the very first and MAIN difference of millionaires from everyone else:

#1: FAILURE / MISTAKES

Ask any exceptionally successful person and he/she will tell you they failed or made mistakes MANY MANY more times than they succeeded. This is because they entered into the game with the knowledge they might fail. They also knew the benefits of success. Now a good question to ask of our short tale above would be "Why didn't the boy just crawl out to the blackberry patch the first time he fell in the ditch?". The answer is simple. Successful people want to know how NOT to do something as much as they want to know how to do it successfully. The boy wanted to achieve REAL success. He wanted to correct his mistakes and find that perfect way to get to the blackberry patch. Because while he could just crawl the mud everytime he wanted some blackberries, he would much prefer to achieve the same result without mud on his face.

#2: ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

It almost sounds cliche today. The term "entrepreneurial spirit" has been used and abused so much it's value is nearly equivalent to the Dinar (and just about as likely to be restored in value). But exceptionally successful people truly do have an aura about them that tells you, "hey ... this person has drive ... this person is a leader and a risk taker". Imagine the "sport" of trying to become successful as if it were a game at a casino. You know the odds are stacked against you, but you carefully watch the tables to decide which game is most likely to pay a winning share to you and you take a chance and place your bet. Entrepreneurs do this so often, they don't even think of it as gambling anymore. And they have usually done so much research and so much of #1 (failing or making mistakes) that they have greatly increased their odds of winning. The true entrepreneur isn't thinking about an empire of wealth, he stays focused on the "here and now" with very little thought about the past and only a required amount of preparation and thought for what might lie ahead (that isnt to say he/she will not spend a great deal of time and care planning ahead when necessary). The entrepreneur is always looking to make the right deal or join the winning hand. The entrepreneur will look at nearly every facet of ordinary daily life as an opportunity (the hot dog cart, the bookstore, the delivery service, and especially something new that isn't available in an area yet). The entrepreneur can turn anything into a possible new business venture.

#3: FEAR to ENERGY CONVERSION

It sounds odd, but most potentially successful people actually fear being successful deep down. Truly successful people harness their fears and use them to create energy. They act in spite of fear. This really highlights the opposite thought process that goes on in a normal working person and a successful person. Many more people fear failure and it prohibits them from even beginning their journey towards success and freedom. To acheive true success, you must be ready to accept the fact that you may fail completely. You could lose everything (your house, your job, your possessions, your savings, etc). Many successful people go bankrupt at some point, sometimes several times before acheiving great success. If you want to be successful, you must learn to think differently and ACT differently. Understand that fear is a figment of our imagination. You control WHAT you're afraid of, the INTENSITY of that fear, and HOW STRONGLY that fear will affect you. You must develop the mindset to act in spite of those things which you are afraid. Self-confidence and pride will be your reward for beating down those monsters that want to hold you back. And success will be your legacy.

#4: TIME MANAGEMENT

Probably my own personal worst area of acheivement, simple time management is KEY to being successful. Some of the most successful people in world are said to "NEVER SLEEP". This doesn't mean literally that they never sleep, but they are able to accomplish tasks that would take an ordinary person much longer to accomplish. My cousin Jimmy (collegiate athletic coach) told me a story about one of his players who was having trouble making practice. The kid continuously asked to leave practice early because he needed to finish a paper or he had a big exam the next day he needed to study for. Jim basically said to the player "Look, you're a great athelete. But you can't leave practice early. There are 24 hours in a day. You attend class 4 days a week for 6 hours a day. If you donated 1 whole day (24 hours) to studying, homework, and writing papers you would still have 5 whole days a week to watch movies, play xbox, go to group lunches with girls, sleep, excercise, or anything else YOU wanted to do. Don't ever ask me to leave practice early again". Another big mistake the average person makes is making, usually VERY believable, excuses as to why they're time management is so poor. "When I get home from work I'm just too tired", or "No one else wakes up at 5am on their day off". The fact of the matter is ... if you had an opportunity to see your favorite rock group or your favorite sports team or famous actor after you got home from work you would muster up the energy to do it. Successful people make things happen. They don't talk about it and they don't waste time, they do it and they commit to it day in and day out until they succeed.

#5: THINK CHEAP

Wealthy are frugal. Face it, you can't stay wealthy if you blow it all. And money saved is money earned. When you go to buy new inventory, HAGGLE! Walk away from a deal if you have to. Successful people would rather leave a vendor high and dry than get suckered into buying something for more than someone else is paying for it. Not to say that you should WASTE time shopping for the best price in every situation, but don't just carelessly spend your hard earned money either. Barter when you can. Trading will always save money and make everyone very happy. And when it's time to buy a car, for example, consider the fact that most millionaires bought an economy car (a honda accord, toyota camry, or ford taurus for example).

WASTE NOT. If you buy it use it. If you're not using it, sell it. If you can sell it, buy more of it and sell it again ... and again, and again if you can. Get the idea?

UPDATED Nov 10, 2007: I'm adding this addition, because I've discovered that many people share my shortcomings when it comes to knowing where your money is and reconciling your accounts. In an interview with the wealthiest man in the world, a news reporter asked, "What has been your secret to success"? The man replied by pulling out a ledger that his father had given him when he was just a boy. He learned to manage his money by keeping a personal handwritten ledger that he still uses today (with billions in networth). Keeping a ledger is hard for those of us who don't like to do it, but like many of my tips in this article, you must remember the final goal. And you don't have to keep a hand-written ledger, there are plenty of electronic bookkeeping programs / software out there (like Quickbooks, Peachtree, Quicken, etc). Knowing exactly how much money you have at any given time will give you a sense of security and knowing where your money is spent and where your best sources of income are will give you yet another tool to help you succeed.

CONCLUSION:

I hope you found this glimpse into the mind of a millionaire helpful. Model yourself after a successful person and you can be successful, too. One thing is certain: you must change your thought process and your mindset to escape the chains that hold you in the place you are now. Focus on the "here and now" and be mindful of your surroundings and learn from your failures. When you do fail, and you will ... stand up and try again. YOU WILL SUCCEED.

Please put in a rating for me if you found this info to be helpful.

(c) 2006-07. Mike Walters

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