On the Road to Riches, I've found that talk is cheap. Many people say they want to be rich, but what do they do?
In my experience the poor:
- Waste their life playing pointless games on their phone.
I took a trip over to the google play store and "Run Sausage Run" was the most popular game du jour. Is this really what millions of Americans are doing with their time??
- Finance literally everything. (cars, t.v.'s, furniture, cryptocurrencies??)
and - "Savings" consists of waiting for their yearly TAX REFUND check. Why anyone would let the government hold onto their money interest free for the entire year is beyond me.
And don't get me started on a budget.. so what does a Warren Buffet or Jeff Bezos sit around doing, that has made them so successful? Even if you're not aiming to be the world's first TRILLIONAIRE, there's gotta be some takeaways there right?
Top 3 Things the Wealthy Do
1) READ
Warren Buffett was once asked about the key to success, he pointed to a stack of nearby books and said:
“Read 500 pages like this every day. That's how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”
I read one or two books a month, the average Fortune 500 CEO reads one a week!
If you're like me, it's time to step your game up! Learners are Earners. If you haven't read a book all last year... well you should probably stop reading this article.
2) FOCUS
Speaking of Buffett, both he and Bill Gates once gave the same one word advice for their success. FOCUS
It's nice to want a thing, but it's a different thing altogether to maintain Laser sharp, unwavering focus and discipline over long periods of time.
I have a cousin who every year, says she's going to lose weight. Being the prototypical American, she is motivated for the first few weeks of the year, follow by: "Screw it, I'm heading out for Ice cream!"
C'mon really? If you want to do anything well, you must Focus, nearly to the exclusion of all other distractions. Whether you want to be a great athlete, violinist, or unabashedly, filthy, stinkin' RICH! Success in any venture requires an IRON will, focus and determination.
Y'know, the ability to keep at something for more than a long weekend.
3) PATIENCE / AVOID BIG MISTAKES
Most of you are out here trying to Get Rich Quick. I used to be no different. I once lost $10,000 dollars trading Forex... in one week! Seriously it was my first blog post on Steemit.
I used to have a friend when I was younger named Mark who played poked incessantly. He told me he'd probably made close to $800,000 playing poker, but had ultimately lost over $900,000. He wanted to know if he could borrow $50 until tomorrow.
Most of us are like Mark. We're always trying to make a big score. Spinning our wheels furiously on the next new thing and ultimately ending up broke and asking to borrow money.
I said "NO" by the way.
"Try a payday loan. Also have fun being poor the rest of your life."
Okay so I didn't say that last part, but needless to say we're not friends anymore.
I've found you can accumulate a lot of wealth merely by investing in something prudent, and then not blowing your money. It adds up shockingly fast.
Keep Chipping Away.
It is said that most people overestimate what they can achieve in ONE year, and underestimate what they can achieve in TEN.
Any goal or venture worth pursuing is going to take some time, but what most won't tell you is that your efforts compound. They snowball, but you have to stick with it.
In a few short years I've become considerably wealthier than I was five years ago, so I'll leave you with one last tip that's been one of the key pillars to my own success:
It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.
Until Next Time
It's your move.
JESS
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