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February 1st, 2009 | Posted in Blog | No Comments
There are essentially two different ways that you can make a million dollars: the easy way and the smart way.
The Easy Way
The simplest way to become a millionaire is to choose the right parents and/or grandparents. Paris Hilton of the Hilton Hotel chain fortune “chose” this route, as did Jamie Johnson of Johnson & Johnson and many others. Since our lineage and the occasional corresponding trust funds are usually out of our control, most of us can’t take advantage of this method.
If you’re incredibly lucky or have a knack for trivia, you might have a chance at winning the lottery, hitting it big in Las Vegas or winning a load of cash on a game show. But those methods may or may not throw you into the millionaire circle. Plus, with the Las Vegas approach you may find that you’re hooked (in which case, you should see our How Craps Works article) and subsequently lose your fortune on your next boondoggle.
If you have extreme athletic talent, you stand a slim chance of making millions as a professional athlete. LeBron James, who went straight from high school to the NBA, got a $90 million contract from Nike before he had even played a single professional basketball game.
The Smart Way
Even if you’re not a trust-fund baby and aren’t the luckiest person around, you can still make it big. As we mentioned earlier, most millionaires are self-made, ordinary people very much like you. But they set a goal to become a millionaire — or at least a goal to achieve financial freedom. In order to achieve their goals, most of them started their own businesses simply because it’s difficult to earn enough money to become a millionaire when you’re working for someone else. Instead, you’re making them a millionaire.
Nothing is a sure thing. But if you want to really have a chance at making a million dollars then working for yourself is one of the best ways. Of course, starting your own business means taking a risk, but it may not be the risk we’ve always thought it to be. According to an article at Business.com, the old saying that nine out of 10 new businesses fail just isn’t true. The author, Dan Kehrer, says that “a review of businesses gone bust by StartupJournal.com, a Dow Jones & Co. division, shows that the number of outright business failures in the United States is highly exaggerated.”
The article also explains that about one-third of business closures that government statistics assume to be failures are actually successful businesses. Their owners simply sold off pieces of the business or closed them to retire or pursue other activities.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Business Tracking Series show about 65 percent of new businesses still operating after four years. Another recent study estimates that only 10 percent of the nation’s 5.5 million small businesses (not counting solo operators) close each year.
With this outlook for success, maybe starting that new business isn’t such a risk after all. If you do fail, just remember that with each failure comes experience and knowledge to help the next venture succeed. Many self-made millionaires failed at businesses before they got it right. And each time they failed, they learned a lesson for their next business idea.
Rich Blessings
Ettore
January 28th, 2009 | Posted in Blog | 1 Comment
Several researchers have studied the lifestyles of Millionaires and come to the conclusion that the majority of them don’t live that way at all. That’s part of why they’re millionaires. Thomas Stanley and William Danko’s book “The Millionaire Next Door” revealed that most millionaires really could be the folks next door. They don’t drive a new car every year or jet around the world. In fact, sometimes they’re the least likely person you would suspect.
Stanley and Danko found that millionaires share a few common characteristics:
They live below their means.
Half of the millionaires interviewed did not live in high-status neighborhoods. Instead, they lived in average neighborhoods in average houses. That’s how they were able to save money. The other half that did live in high-status neighborhoods only moved there after they had become wealthy.
They lead frugal lifestyles.
Most do not buy $5,000 suits, expensive boats or even new cars. You might say they’re tightwads. They shop for bargains and always negotiate for a better deal.
They’re self-employed or own their own businesses.
They also love their work — they connect with their jobs and feel very passionate about them.
They plan and study investments.
The majority of millionaires invest heavily and spend a large amount of their time studying their investments or seeking advice from financial advisors.
They weren’t always at the top of their class.
Another surprising commonality among the millionaires interviewed was that they didn’t all have advanced degrees or graduate at the top of their classes. Some didn’t even go to college and a few didn’t even finish high school.
They’re self-made.
Finally, the majority of millionaires received no family money and do not plan to give their own children a lot of money. They want their children to succeed the same way they did — on their own.
We’ll look at what it takes to make a million dollars next.
Rich Blessings
Ettore
January 25th, 2009 | Posted in Blog | No Comments
Being the Best In Every Area
What is character? Your character is the degree to which you live your life consistent with high, life-enhancing values. A person who lacks character is one who compromises on higher order values in favor of lower order expedience, or who has no values at all. Your adherence to what you believe to be right and true is the real measure of the person you have become to this moment.
Define What “Excellence” Means to You
Let us say that one of your values is “excellence.” Your definition of excellence could be, “Excellence means that I set the highest standards for myself in everything I do. I do my very best in every situation and under all circumstances. I constantly strive to be better in my work, and as a person in my relationships. I recognize that excellence is a life-long journey and I work every day to become better and better in everything I do.”
Organize Your Actions
With a definition like this, you have a clear organizing principle for your actions. You have set a standard by which you can evaluate your behavior. You have created a framework within which you can make decisions. You have a measuring rod against which you can compare yourself in everything you do. You can continually grade your activities in terms of “more” or “less.” You have a clear target to aim at and organize your work around.
Decide What You Want for Your Family
It’s the same with each of your other values. If your value is your family, you could define this as, “The needs of my family take precedence over all other concerns. Whenever I have to choose between the happiness, health and well being of a member of my family, and any other interest, my family will always come first.”
Keep Focused
From that moment onward, it becomes easier for you to choose. Your family comes first. Until you have fully satisfied the needs of your family, no other time requirement will side track you into a lower value activity.
Shape Your Own Character
The wonderful thing about values clarification is that it enables you to take charge of developing and shaping your own character. When your values and goals, your inner life and your outer life, are in complete alignment, you feel terrific about yourself. You enjoy high self-esteem. Your self-confidence soars.
When you achieve complete congruence between your values and your goals, like a hand in a glove, you feel strong, happy, healthy and fully integrated as a person. You develop a kind of courage that makes you completely unafraid to make decisions and take action. Your whole life improves when you begin living your life by the values that you most admire.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to put this ideas into action immediately.
First, create a clear, written description of your values and what they mean to you. From that point on, resolve to live consistent with your own definition.
Second, discipline yourself to live in complete alignment with the values, virtues and qualities that are most important to you. This is the key to character.
Rich Blessings
Ettore
January 25th, 2009 | Posted in Blog | No Comments
We have the power to choose what we want in life. With proper planning and goal setting, we can design our lives to be exactly what we want. My article provides a six step career plan that is sure to bring fulfillment and meaning to your life!
Step 1
Self Assessment is the process of gathering information about yourself in order to make an informed career decision. Your values, interests, personality inventories, skill assessments, strengths and weaknesses are all critical components in determining which job and industry would benefit you. A self assessment is first and foremost when choosing an occupation. Learning about yourself helps you figure out what career to pursue. It is basically the process of where are you right now and where you want to go.
Step 2
Emotional Cleansing We miss great opportunities in life by carrying emotional baggage that we refuse to release. Negative emotions drain our positive energy and prevent us from focusing on good choices for not only our career, but our lives. We live in a constant state of pessimism carrying this baggage. There are many methods to help release these negative emotions. There are many methods for learning to release negative emotions (i.e., prayer, meditation, visualization, etc).
Step 3
Assess the market and industry Understand the conditions of the market and industry you choose. Many industries undergo changes at any given point in time. Understanding the state of the industry provides you with the knowledge of how to approach that specific market. Ensure the industry you choose aligns with your skills and passions.
Step 4
Set goals The first step in goal setting is to create your personal vision and mission statement and purpose. Your vision statement is “what” you want to accomplish in your career, and your mission statement is “how” you intend to accomplish it, and your purpose statement is why you do the things that you do. Your list of goals will be your roadmap for accomplishing your mission. S.M.A.R.T. goals are the best method for goal setting. Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Time bound goals have all the necessary components to achieve success. Also be sure to include a backup plan in the event that your initial plan runs into roadblocks.
Step 5
Resume and job portfolio There are many internet resources and books on the market to assist with creating a powerful resume. Many job seekers do not have a job portfolio. A job portfolio is a document that highlights your accomplishments. You can either create a leather bound portfolio to show, or you can create a “leave behind” document. Your job portfolio can be letters of recommendation, achievements, award certificates, or a couple of pages from an outstanding evaluation. It can be whatever you creatively want it to be. Research shows that a job portfolio is 75% more effective in landing your job.
Step 6
Network of contacts Your job search will not be effective if you don’t know anyone. It is critical to join several networking organizations, and always take business cards. And don’t just collect business cards, use them! Stay in touch with your network of contacts because you never know when they may have a critical lead for that dream job you’re looking for.
And remember you are what you focus on most of the time! FOCUS in meaningful things in your LIFE and they will expand.
Rich Blessings
Ettore
January 21st, 2009 | Posted in Blog | No Comments
“The automatic millionaire”. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t you like to get paid automatically, to become wealthy for doing… nothing?
As incredible as that sounds, it’s the basis of income building for wealthy people all over the world.
Most people work hard their whole lives for little results. Most people also prefer to work for an employer, to have the “security” of a job with a paycheck. There’s a high price on this security, though… the cost of being stuck in one spot forever. Living in security means living in fear of what would happen if you made different choices and that will never make you the millionaire next door you probably right now wishing was you.
Rich people choose to get paid based on results.
Poor people choose to get paid based on time.
When you own your own business, you make income based on your profits - commissions or percentages of revenue. Working for a paycheck means putting a ceiling on your income. When you work for yourself, there is no ceiling.
Whether you provide a product or a service, you not only need to sell what you have - you need to sell a lot of it. Poor people don’t just get paid for their time, they prefer to work with easily manageable amounts. And easily manageable amounts of just about anything means all too easily manageable amounts of profit.
Volume is key to wealth. If you make widgets for a paycheck - well, you’ll never get rich off widgets. If you sell ten thousand widgets, you can make a tidy profit. If you sell ten million widgets, you’re an instant millionaire.
There’s no slow road to becoming a fast millionaire, as wealth coach David Bach would tell you - you have to get out there and sell widgets, invest, find multiple revenue streams, and explore all available opportunities before reaching the point where the wheels you’ve put into motion make you the automatic millionaire to envy.
Here are a few tips for getting started on your road to extreme wealth:
# If you presently get paid an hourly wage or a salary, create and suggest a merit-based compensation plan to your employer. This means that you will get paid - at least in part - based on the results of your work.
# If you own your own business, pay your employees and supplies based on their performance and results, rather than their hours. You will be amazed to see what this does for you business.
# If you’re working in a job now and aren’t making what your worth (and that’s pretty likely) think about starting your own business, at least part-time. Consider independent consulting in your current field of work along with other opportunities such as network marketing, affiliate marketing and other online marketing techniques.
Whichever option or options you decide to explore, keep in mind that you are working toward creating great results, and getting paid for those results rather than the hours you put into making them. You don’t want to be paid for your time, because when you’re the automatic millionaire, your time will be invaluable so better then to get paid for results.
Rich Blessing
Ettore
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