The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires: How to Achieve Financial Independence Faster and
Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible
The principles in this book are based on 15 years of teaching and research about the habits and practices of self-made millionaires. Research demonstrates that many self-made millionaires succeeded by doing certain things in a certain way again and again. The most important factor in their attainment of financial success was not money, but the personal qualities that enabled them to earn money and keep it. The self-made millionaires studied for this book are among more than nine million people in the U.S. who are worth more than a million dollars. Their numbers are growing by 15% to 20% annually, and most of them made their money themselves. In fact, most financially successful people started off broke or nearly so. These millionaires faced bankruptcy or near bankruptcy repeatedly – an average of 3.2 times each. They commonly failed before they found the right opportunities and succeeded. According to the Law of Cause and Effect, you can succeed by doing what other successful people do. And what do self-made millionaires do?
follow these 21 success secrets:
1. Dream Big Dreams
Permit yourself to dream about and imagine the kind of life you would like to live. How much money you have to earn to acquire such a lifestyle. Practice back-from-the-future thinking by projecting yourself forward five years and imagining that you lead an absolutely perfect life. Notice what it looks like. Creating such a long-term future vision helps you become more positive, motivated and determined. List everything you would do if you were guaranteed success. Select one specific action and do it now.
Dream Big
2. Develop a Clear Sense of Direction
Two factors that have the most effect in determining what happens to you are what you think about most of the time and how you think about it. Think constantly about your goals, so you continually move toward them. Decide what you want in each area of your life, especially in your financial life, and write down your specific goals. Set a deadline for each one and list everything you must do to achieve it. Then, organize your list into an action plan, and act on it now. Do something every day to move closer to your priority goal.
Develop a Clear Sense of Direction
3. See Yourself as Self-Employed
You are responsible for what happens in your life, so if you don’t like something, you are responsible for changing it. You are in charge. Thinking that you work for someone else is a mistake, even if you have a boss. You are the president of your own personal service corporation, no matter where you work. By seeing yourself as self-employed, you will
develop the mentality of an independent, self-responsible and self-starting entrepreneur.
See Yourself as Self-Employed
4. Do What You Love to Do
Find out what you really like doing and have a natural talent for doing. Then, throw yourself fully into that work. If you love what you are doing, you won’t think of it as work.
Do What You Love to Do
5. Commit to Excellence
Whatever you choose to do, resolve to be the best. Set your goal to be in the top 10% of your field. You need to be very good, because virtually all successful people are highlycompetent. What one skill, if you developed it, would have the greatest effect on your life?
Make a plan to get better in that area.
Commit to Excellence
6. Work Longer and Harder
Since all self-made millionaires work very hard, you should, too. Working hard means starting earlier, staying later and working more intensely. The key is to work all the time you work and don’t waste time. Don’t try to incorporate
personal errands and activities, such as phoning friends, socializing or reading the newspaper into your work. Stay focused when you work, so you develop a reputation as a very hard working person. Others will notice you and help you advance.
7. Dedicate Yourself to Lifelong Learning
Continually learn and improve in your chosen field. Think of your mind as a muscle, which
develops more and more as you use it. As in the case of using physical muscles, you have to work and stretch your mental muscles to build them. The more you learn, the more you.
The three keys to lifelong learning are:
- Spend at least 30 to 60 minutes a day reading in your field.
- Listen to audio programs in your car, so you learn on the road
- Attend as many courses and seminars in your field as possible.
8. Pay Yourself First
Resolve to save and invest at least 10% of your income. Take 10% from each paycheck you receive and put it into a special account for financial accumulation.Be very frugal and careful with your money. Question all of your expenses, and delay or defer every important buying decision for a week or even a month. The longer you delay, the better your decision and the better the price you will get. Impulse buying is one major
reason that people find they have little money when they retire. Try to save as much of your income as you can. If you can’t save 10%, start with saving even 1%.
9. Learn Every Detail of Your Business
Learn how to do your work better, so you become an expert in your field. By becoming an expert, you rise to the top. To this end, keep up with the latest magazines and books in your area. The Law of Integrative Complexity says that the individual who can integrate and use the greatest amount of information will dominate.
10. Dedicate Yourself to Customer Service
The more you serve other people, the greater your rewards. Customer service is especially important, and all self-made millionaires are dedicated to serving their customers well. They think about them constantly, and seek new and better ways to serve them. Every day, consider ways that you can increase the value of your service to your customers.
11. Be Absolutely Honest
Getting ahead requires a reputation for absolute integrity, because all successful businesses are built on trust.
The more people trust you, the more they will be willing to:• Work for you.• Give you credit.• Lend you money.
• Buy your products or services.
To attain this ideal of integrity, start by being true to yourself, and then be true to the other
people in your life. Always do the right thing, even if it has a high cost.
12. Focus on Your Priorities
By learning to regularly set priorities and focus on achieving them, you will almost always
be able to achieve what you want. This single-mindedness can be a hard habit to develop, but you need the will power, self-discipline and personal character to work on your highest priority until you complete it.
The secret of prioritizing is to list everything you have to do to work toward a goal, and then delineate your highest-value activities: What steps must be done by you, alone, to make a real difference? Identify the most valuable use of your time and do that one task until it is completed.
13. Develop a Reputation for Speed and Dependability
Today people want things quickly and have little patience for waiting. Thus, you need to develop a reputation for speed and a bias for action.
Move quickly when people want or need something or when you see something that needs to be done. Whether you are doing something for your boss or your customers, do it so fast that you amaze them with your speed. To attract more opportunities, develop a reputation
for moving quickly.
14. Climb from Peak to Peak
Be like a mountain climber who climbs a peak and must go down into a valley before climbing the next. You will face ups and downs in your life and career, since all business life is made up of cycles. Develop a long-term perspective, and plan two years or more ahead. Then, you can feel more confident when you encounter valleys along the way.
15. Practice Self-Discipline in All Things
By disciplining yourself to do what you should when you should, even if you don’t feel like it, you virtually guarantee your success. You need to be able to use self-mastery, self-control and self-direction and to delay short-term gratification in order to attain long-term success. Worry about getting pleasing results, rather than about using pleasing methods.
16. Unlock Your Inborn Creativity
The three factors that stimulate creativity are intensely desired goals, pressing problemsand focused questions. The more you focus on achieving your goals, solving your problems
and answering tough questions, the smarter you will become. Your creativity will improve and your mind will get stronger. The essence of creativity is improvement – the more you try to improve, the more creative you become.
17. Put Yourself Around the Right People
The more people you know – or who know you in a positive light – the more successful you will be and the more quickly you will advance. Your reference group is especially
important, since, like a chameleon, you will take on the attitudes, values, behaviours and beliefs of the people around you. Try to associate with positive people and get away from negative, critical, complaining ones.
18. Take Excellent Care of Your Physical Health
You can aim to live to be 80 or older as you build the good health you need to do well professionally. Maintain a proper weight, follow a proper diet and exercise regularly.
19. Be Decisive and Action Oriented
Self-made millionaires think carefully and make decisions quickly, and so should you.
Get feedback and quickly make any necessary corrections. By being decisive and action oriented, you will get far more done every day and you will live your life in high gear.
20. Never Allow Failure to Be an Option
Fear of failure, not failure itself, is the greatest obstacle to success. Failure makes you stronger and more determined, but fear of failure paralyzes you. Thus, do what you fear; when you act boldly, you will find that hidden forces will come to aid you.
21. Pass the Persistence Test
Never give up, no matter what happens. Be willing to persist, regardless of difficulties,disappointments and setbacks. Recurring crises are inevitable, and usually arise every few months. When you respond positively and effectively, you become stronger and cope better. If you follow these principles of success consistently and persistently, you will succeed.
Nothing can stop you.
Take-Aways
- If you do what other successful people do, you will achieve like results.
- To become a millionaire, follow the practices of other self-made millionaires.
- Dream big dreams, so you have a long-term vision of what you want.
- Think constantly about your goals.
- See yourself as self-employed, do what you love to do and commit yourself to excellence.
- Be prepared to work longer and harder, to dedicate yourself to lifelong learning and to become an expert at what you do.
- Serve others, since all self-made millionaires are dedicated to good customer service.
- Develop a reputation for absolute honesty.
- Concentrate on your highest priorities and work quickly and dependably.
- Practice self-discipline and dedicate yourself to continued improvement.