The Top Secret to Becoming a Millionaire

[Queen of Spades]

You start a business venture because you have a passion - and the money will come. Doing it multiple times with the sole intention of hitting the jackpot on one of them is a pretty empty way to live and work.

I can't imagine a worse fate than waking up at 60 and looking back on my life's work to see the motivation was entirely financial.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Did you even read what you quoted?

I'm not trying to say that you can't have a family and be a successful entrepreneur. Just that you have a better shot if you save your own family for later.

 

[chrmjenkins]

You start a business venture because you have a passion - and the money will come. Doing it multiple times with the sole intention of hitting the jackpot on one of them is a pretty empty way to live and work.

I can't imagine a worse fate than waking up at 60 and looking back on my life's work to see the motivation was entirely financial.

You only woke up at 60 because you worked hard to earn your health insurance.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Not about crushing them lol. Just shifting focus.

You're doing it wrong! Crushing people is half the fun. The other half is crushing them again for no reason once you have all that sweet sweet cash.

 

[MICHAELSD]

You start a business venture because you have a passion - and the money will come. Doing it multiple times with the sole intention of hitting the jackpot on one of them is a pretty empty way to live and work.

I can't imagine a worse fate than waking up at 60 and looking back on my life's work to see the motivation was entirely financial.

I'd agree with this as well. All my projects are works of passion. I'm devoting myself to this lifestyle with the intention of creating products and making a living, then maybe becoming rich.

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You only woke up at 60 because you worked hard to earn your health insurance.

lol This thread mostly applies to younger people here. At a certain age (25-30?) most will start building a family anyway.

 

[chrmjenkins]

I'd agree with this as well. All my projects are works of passion. I'm devoting myself to this lifestyle with the intention of creating products and making a living, then maybe becoming rich.

Maybe? I trusted you.

So this isn't a sure thing?

 

[MICHAELSD]

Maybe? I trusted you.

So this isn't a sure thing?

Trolling? ^ lol

 

[chrmjenkins]

Trolling? ^ lol

No. Glad to see you're back though. I was worried you had left to pursue exciting new thread opportunities. You never answered about my family franchise idea.

 

[MICHAELSD]

No. Glad to see you're back though. I was worried you had left to pursue exciting new thread opportunities. You never answered about my family franchise idea.

Go pursue it so you can stop trolling haha

 

[chrmjenkins]

Go pursue it so you can stop trolling haha

I'm sterile. I didn't think this through at all. But I'm learning!

Do you have a cell phone/pager/ICQ number I can have to bounce more ideas off of you?

 

[obeygiant]

if you have two kids you could sell them for $500,000 each.

 

[chrmjenkins]

Sorry for completely off topic question. Does anyone know any good adoption websites?

 

[MacNut]

if you have two kids you could sell them for $500,000 each.

That depends on how much candy they ate.

 

[mobilehaathi]

OP should team up with Squilly.

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[sigma8]

Statistically, individuals who "settle down" with families have more stagnant economic growth.

Also statistically:
- most entrepreneurial efforts fail
- most people want to be millionaires
- most people fail at it

So if you want to base your decisions purely on statistics, you shouldn't even try to make a million dollars--odds are that you'll fail and if you've put off having a family in pursuit of that, you'll have neither in the end.

You need energy, intelligence, and luck--at least two of the three. Two will give you a decent shot, three should all but guarantee success. Certainly, it might make sense to delay certain milestones in life, but those are contextual decisions, not traps of mediocrity.

 

[samiwas]

When I read this thread, I'm reminded of these posts from this forum a while back:

I don't do a single thing. I only apply a single thought to every decision....does this make me money? A call with a friend, no.....a call to a client, yes. Call the client.

Other than direct family I see every day, no parties, no birthday gifts, ect. Store brand only, and never ever ever eat out.

You can make some very very nice cash very quickly doing that.
---
What you don't figure into that calculation is that money equals power. The more money you have the more power you have. Going to eat out someplace is pedestrian at best. Having the power to get people in that eatery hired or fired, drive away competitors, reward people who are loyal is the true thrill in life.

That just sounds like a terrible and entirely presumptuous existence to me. But to some people, I'm sure that is the end-all-be-all of living.

You start a business venture because you have a passion - and the money will come. Doing it multiple times with the sole intention of hitting the jackpot on one of them is a pretty empty way to live and work.

I can't imagine a worse fate than waking up at 60 and looking back on my life's work to see the motivation was entirely financial.

Agreed.

I'd agree with this as well. All my projects are works of passion. I'm devoting myself to this lifestyle with the intention of creating products and making a living, then maybe becoming rich.

Honestly, I don't think your advice was much of a secret.

If I had a choice to drop everything in my life, cut most of my time with friends, give up nights out, give up time to spend enjoying life and make a lot of money; or live my life the way I do now and not make as much money, I'd choose to live my life the way I do now.

To me, actually enjoying life is far more important than raking in the riches and turning into someone like the guy I quoted above. If you want to sacrifice everything in your life in an attempt to make money, great. I will spend my time laughing with friends, going to the playground with my kid, working on hobbies, etc. I chose a career that allows me to work maybe half of the year and still usually be in the upper 20%...and it's a career that is fun and what I wanted to do my whole life.

Why would I give all that up so that I could work 80-100 hours a week in a feeble attempt to attain millions. At the end of it, I'd have no friends, family would probably be put off, and I'd have nothing to look back on but all those hours I spent and possibly some money. Whoopidee doo.

No thanks. I'm also reminded of this one:

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “only a little while.”

The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.

The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed. “I have an MBA from Harvard, and can help you,” he said. “You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middle-man, you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening up your own cannery. You could control the product, processing, and distribution,” he said. “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually to New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “Oh, 15 to 20 years or so.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time was right, you would announce an IPO, and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!”

“Millions – then what?”

The American said, “Then you could retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos.”

 

[puma1552]

This post was obviously written by someone young and idealistic with zero life experience.

You know the real way to become a millionaire? Pay yourself 15% of every single paycheck, match your company dollar for dollar on its 401K, and max out your Roth IRA every year, start as young as possible.

Trust me, half the people in your neighborhood are probably millionaires for the above reason. They aren't living in million dollar homes and driving Ferarris, either.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

You start a business venture because you have a passion - and the money will come. Doing it multiple times with the sole intention of hitting the jackpot on one of them is a pretty empty way to live and work.

I can't imagine a worse fate than waking up at 60 and looking back on my life's work to see the motivation was entirely financial.

Exactly. Some of the most successful people will tell you that they love what they do and/or created.

 

[Huntn]

How do you become a millionaire?

Step 1: Don't get married. Or if you do make sure your spouse makes more than you. I know the first part from first hand experience and I'm still married to my first wife.

Having said that, money is not the only thing that makes your life complete. It's just that marriage and family may be at odds with the goal of being a millionaire. But if you exceed your expectations you might be able to have your cake and eat it too!

 

[twietee]

Good point Huntn! Marrying a handsome millionaire and getting plenty of kiddos sounds like the best of both worlds. Don't fancy work all that much tbh.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The irony is that the 'Top Secret to Becoming a Millionaire' actually lies with the family model much derided by the OP.

Seriously, the easiest way by far to become a millionaire is to inherit it. That s, to manage to be born into the sort of family which already has that degree of wealth and inherit it when they shuffle off this mortal coil.

Simple really: A Nice Rich Family + (Inherited Money) = Millionaire.

 

[MICHAELSD]

The irony is that the 'Top Secret to Becoming a Millionaire' actually lies with the family model much derided by the OP.

Seriously, the easiest way by far to become a millionaire is to inherit it. That s, to manage to be born into the sort of family which already has that degree of wealth and inherit it when they shuffle off this mortal coil.

Simple really: A Nice Rich Family + (Inherited Money) = Millionaire.

Full title should maybe be "The Top Secret to Becoming a Self-made Millionaire"

 

[mscriv]

MICHAELSD, what is your end goal? Much like samiwas's post points out, what do you ultimately want to accomplish? Is the goal to simply reach a certain number in the bank account, is it that you want to achieve a certain lifestyle, or are you after a sense of satisfaction that you think comes with having achieved materialistic success? I'm just curious as to what you hope monetary and business success will bring to your life?

 

[Parkin Pig]

How do you become a millionaire? This is 100% serious and original advice that I hope helps someone on here.

100% serious and original advice?
You may be 100% serious, but your advice is anything but original.
And it doesn't look like anyone is taking you 100% seriously, which you will need for success.

Personally, I'm going to keep trying business ventures until one sticks. Eventually you'll make enough to live off of, even if the first year isn't a million-dollar year.

I'll assume that as you're going to keep trying business ventures until one sticks, then you're not already a millionaire. If that is the case, how do you qualify to give advice on becoming a millionaire?

Why not go and try your plucked-from-the-air', made-up advice, and come back and give us a pep-talk when you've made your first million. I may even take you 100% seriously.

 

[samiwas]

This post was obviously written by someone young and idealistic with zero life experience.

By my calculations, the OP is somewhere between 19 and 22.