Millionaires are people who have an income of more than a million dollars. I’ve met many people with 6 figure incomes but none of them were actually millionaires. A huge majority of them aren’t even close to having net wealth of one million dollars yet they call themselves millionaires.
This article is for anyone who wants to make enough money to become a millionaire by the end of the year. This isn’t a get rich quick scheme or a fancy trick. All we are going to do is make smart and easy decisions and follow simple and proven systems and templates.
Become a brilliant listener and observer
“Listening is such a simple act. It requires us to be present, and that takes practice, but we don’t have to do anything else. We don’t have to advise, or coach, or sound wise. We just have to be willing to sit there and listen.” — Margaret Wheatley
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” — Stephen Covey
Interestingly, in helping ideal mentors and role models, I’ve seen time and again how people overly value their own “wisdom.”
Recently, I was on a call with one of my mentors. There were three of us on the call. The mentor, myself, and one other. We were all discussing my mentor’s goals and plans for expanding their business and simplifying their life.
The conversation lasted about 90 minutes.
60 of those minutes were the other person spouting endless ideas without clear context. They were trying too hard to be useful or smart.
It wasn’t helpful.
Instead, it’s better to ask thoughtful questions.
What are they really trying to accomplish?
What are the current challenges?
What do you feel needs to happen?
Why do you want to make these changes?
Once you understand the context, then and only then will your words be useful. When it comes to relationships and communication, sometimes the stakes are very high. In these cases, you want to measure ten times and cut once. In other words, you want your words to be relevant and on-point. You want it to be obvious that you’re there for them, and not to boost your own ego.
If it’s really about them, then make it about them. Ask questions before providing ideas.
Help them get clarity themselves through their own talking.
Make sure they understand what is really going on in their head by helping them clarify.
Then, when you feel you could provide insight, do it in the context of what they’ve already said.
They will then know that you are truly listening to them and that you’re truly trying to help them. They will love and respect you, because unlike most people, you are genuine. You’re a listener.
Focus on who instead of how
“Stop asking ‘how’ and start asking ‘who.’” — Dan Sullivan
Part of becoming a millionaire, or financially successful in whatever way you define that, is by evolving beyond what Dan Sullivan calls “rugged individualism.”
When ambitious people set goals, they often ask themselves, “How do I do this?”
When you’re first starting out, this is a fine question. But when your vision expands and your time becomes more valuable, you start asking a different question.
“Who can either do this for me or help me do this?”
Rather than trying to do the how yourself, you find the who to take care of the how.
Hiring people or even using services like Upwork is so easy these days. There are people all over the world with time and skills who are ready and waiting. Utilize these people.
You get the best people on board with whatever you’re trying to accomplish by powerfully and clearly conveying the what and the why.
What are you trying to accomplish?
Why is it so important?
This is how you get people excited and committed. Simon Sinek, an expert of work culture, explains that everyone needs more from work than simply a paycheck. We all want to feel like we are a part of something important, meaningful, and worthwhile.
You offer that to people through the what and the why.
You may not see yourself as an entrepreneur. And you certainly don’t have to be one. But if you want to start making more money, you’ll need to stop doing everything by yourself.
Becoming a millionaire doesn’t happen by being a one-person show.
You need to start building a team. And like everything else, you want to do that before you feel ready. Because in truth, you’re never ready before you start. You’re never pre-qualified to do anything. It is always the leap itself and then working through the process that qualifies you.
Continually update your values/definition of success
“If you’re not [different from] who you were 12 months ago, you didn’t learn enough.” — Alain De B0tton
Transformative experiences can change your life. Similarly, transformative relationships can change your life.
You want to regularly have experiences and engage with people who upgrade your current approach and perspective of life.
Right now, you see the world a particular way based on your environment, your goals, and what you’ve been conditioned to focus on.
You can only see what is relevant and meaningful to you. Psychologists call this selective attention. What you focus on expands.
Right now, what you focus on may be different from what you were focusing on two to three years ago.
When you were young, you were focused on what your friends thought about you. As you got older, your focus shifted.
Peak experiences are a certain type of experience that bring something that has been out of focus into focus. When you have these experiences that shift your focus and attention, you begin to see the world differently.
You want to continually shine the focus of your attention on things that are meaningful and valuable to you.
How much of your time and attention is on things that don’t really matter?
How much energy to you put into stuff that isn’t serving you?
What could you be focused on, that would be way more worth you time?
I recently met a person who helped me focus way more directly on my relationship with my kids. He told me a story that really changed my perspective. I was really listening and receptive to what he was saying.
The story he told me hit upon things I’d already heard before, but that weren’t strong enough signals to shift my attention. But his story and the whole experience really made it real for me, enough so that it changed my values and goals.
There are things you’ve heard before which went in one ear and out the other. Those are things you know, but don’t do. Stephen Covey said, “To know and not do is really not to know.”
Just because you’re aware of something doesn’t mean you pay attention to it. Becoming emotionally connected to something is how you begin paying more attention to it. As you engage in something, and begin to identify with it, it becomes a bigger part of your life.
Right now, look at your health. How much attention do you give it? You’ve heard a million times that your health is important. You’re aware, but are you paying attention? Or, is your attention on other things?
Your attention can be measured by what triggers you in your environment. Hence, people who are addicted to alcohol are triggered by many things in their environment to think about alcohol.
What triggers you?
That’s what you’re focused on. That’s what you identify with. That’s what is meaningful to you. That’s where your story of yourself lies.
You can design your focus so that your external environment triggers what you want to see.
Similar to attention, there are things you know are valuable, but that you personally don’t value.
For example, you probably believe that good health is something worth valuing, but your behavior demonstrates what you really value. What you pay attention to is what you value.
So, you want to have experiences that shift what you could value to what you do value. You want to truly value things that will make the biggest difference in your life. You want to stop valuing the things that are sabotaging your success.
You want to set goals around the values you aspire to have. You want to create routines and an environment that bring those values to the forefront of your attention. Your input shapes your outlook. You then want to live out those values daily. Then, you want to regularly have experiences which upgrade, expand, and refine those values.
If your definition of “success” hasn’t changed in the past 12 months, then you haven’t learned very much. If your definition of success hasn’t changed, then you haven’t been having powerful experiences.
Don’t wait too long when you know it’s time to change
“What got you here won’t get you there.” — Dr. Marshall Goldsmith
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” — Albert Einstein
“The way to enjoy life best is to wrap up one goal and start right on the next one. Don’t linger too long at the table of success, the only way to enjoy another meal is to get hungry.” — Jim Rohn
Goals are means, not ends. Once you’ve achieved something big, don’t get stuck there just because it worked before.
Everything you’ve done has brought you to this point.
What is the next big adventure?
What does the situation call for?
What does your imagination inspire?
What’s the next big mountain?
One of the fundamental problems with success is that it becomes a trap. People who have succeeded big get stuck living in their past. They continue to explain themselves based on what they’ve done, rather than what they’re doing.
Elon Musk is a powerful exception. You never hear Elon Musk talk about the Paypal days. Instead, you hear him talking about the problems he’s currently solving and the vision he is currently pursuing.
He’s not stuck in the past. Instead, he’s using all of his past experiences to propel bigger and bigger results and goals and challenges.
He’s always growing, transforming, changing, striving. This is a very healthy approach to life.
Be ruthless with your vision.
Create your vision by defining – then designing – your ideal lifestyle.
Set aside a few days to think it through, to write stuff down, to imagine a possible future that would make you satisfied.https://b1a04bf4af15dabbcef9c66e87c77aee.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
Know what you want to eliminate from your current life, and what you need to add over the next few years.
Read also: How This Couple Makes $100K/Month Blogging and Travels The World
Ditch the non-believers.
Who you surround yourself with is crucial.
You need to stop hanging out with people who aren’t ambitious and aren’t looking to become rich any time soon. Instead, find new like-minded individuals.
Then, find a mentor.
Conclusion
To become a Millionaire with no money you’ll first need to STOP wanting to be rich and start seeing yourself as the money. That means you’ll need to rewire your brain and retrain yourself to think like a person with massive wealth. Keep reading and I’ll show you exactly how.