You might not know it, but May 20th is “Be a Millionaire Day.”
I have no idea who thought of this “holiday.” But I do know that it’s never a bad time to set some financial goals. And if being a millionaire is one of your goals, it can help to start thinking like a millionaire.
So here are five tips on becoming a millionaire from Steve Siebold, author of the book How Rich People Think.
Siebold has interviewed 1,200 of the world’s wealthiest people over the past 30 years and is a self-made multi-millionaire.
Tip #1: Focus your financial efforts on the most important stuff.
The wealthy focus on earning money while the middle class focuses on saving. So to become a millionaire focus on boosting your income, not just cutting back on your expenses, Siebold says.
Tip #2: Learn to see opportunity in the world instead of scarcity.
According to Siebold, “the wealthy see an economic recovery and get excited, and think about money in terms of freedom, possibility, opportunity and abundance. The middle class sees money through the eyes of fear and scarcity and hoards every last penny.”
Tip #3: Adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, which beats a worker mentality.
Siebold notes that “owning a business is the fastest way to world-class wealth,” yet many people are too afraid to pursue entrepreneurship. “But anyone can start a business, and now is one of the greatest times in America to start your own business,” he says.
Tip #4: Your passion should drive your work, not the other way around.
Siebold says that the average person goes to work every day and hopes to find passion in his or her efforts. By contrast, the rich go to work every day feeling passion, and their passion fuels their efforts.
He adds that many of the rich stay in the workforce “because it keeps them feeling young, sharp and revitalized. They want to be making a difference, leaving a legacy and always setting the standard in their field.”
Tip #5: Value education, but don’t be a slave to it.
The rich respect the power of formal education, but they usually don’t associate it with building a financial empire, according to Siebold. He notes that many of the world’s wealthiest people have little formal education, and have amassed their wealth through acquisition and subsequent sale of specific knowledge.
“Formal education teaches people how to think and perform in the linear world of commerce, but the rich rarely become wealthy trading time for money,” he says.
By contrast, “the masses are convinced that master’s degrees and doctorates are the way to wealth, but the rich use their brainpower and the brainpower of others to hone in on ultra-specific solutions to problems their competitors have given up on.”
What Does It Take to Be Considered Wealthy?
Here’s a final, interesting insight on adopting the mindset of the wealthy. Believe it or not, according to a study from UBS, a majority of millionaires don’t consider themselves wealthy (only 31% do).
That’s because most millionaires’ definition of wealth is largely different than other people’s views. Lots of middle-class individuals might say a certain amount of money makes one wealthy, or that never having to work again might make you wealthy.
But when asked: “What does it take to be considered wealthy?” half of millionaires surveyed by UBS said it was about having no financial constraints on their activities.
In other words, complete financial freedom was their litmus test for wealth.
“Ultimately being rich is different for everyone, but it’s best defined as personal liberty,” says Siebold. “Even with one-million dollars, it’s not going to be enough for most people to be truly free of employers, government or other entities with superior resources that dictate what you can and can’t do.”
So now that you know some of the mindset of the rich, what are you doing to achieve financial freedom – or at least upgrade your finances to get on the pathway to wealth or millionaire status?
