Want wealth? Think like the wealthy.
I was recently speaking with one of my clients (a seasoned entrepreneur on the cutting edge of internet business) who gave me some great advice. There was no reason I should invent a new way of doing business on the web, he said, when there are so many good business models out there. Just copy an existing successful business model. (This does not mean plagiarize, but rather look at what is already working and adapt the model to your own particular business.) If you think about it, this is a tried-and-true method for many great companies. McDonald’s may have been the first fast food hamburger joint, but there are plenty of successful copies, usually on the same intersection.
Most of my clients want pretty basic stuff in life—financial freedom; loving relationships; work or a career that is personally fulfilling and financially rewarding, maybe a beautiful home and a family. What do you want? Talk to someone who has it and find out how they got it. You may discover it’s your own assumptions that have held you back.
I used to think that to live in a million dollar house you had to be a millionaire. After talking to several people who lived in truly grand homes, I discovered they had paid little or nothing down to buy them. This blew one of my assumptions right out of the water—you don’t necessarily have to make a big down payment to buy a grand home. You can just have a big mortgage. So that is exactly what we have—a big house, a big mortgage, and a big investment for the future (property values are going up quickly here). This may not be the right step for everyone, but it was right for us, with our growing family.
I’m not suggesting everyone who wants a big house should run out and get one, because for most people, the opposite is true. They would be better off downsizing and cutting their household expenses so that they have money for other things they enjoy (read this story here).
Books such as The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J Stanley, reveal that most of America’s millionaires live modest lifestyles, are great savers, have their own businesses and live in good, middle-class neighborhoods in homes that average about $277,640. They do not have flashy lifestyles.
The vast majority of millionaires and multimillionaires are self-employed business owners, entrepreneurs or self-employed professionals. Most people think that being self-employed is very risky. After all, there is no corporation behind you and the chance of failure is high. Those with the millionaire mindset see being self-employed as less risky than being employed. I certainly do! When people ask me if I worry about making money, I’ve always replied that I’m never going to fire myself. I prefer being in control of my own destiny and in control of my income. The best thing about being self-employed is that there is no salary cap. The only thing that limits you is yourself. What if you are worried or afraid to start your own business?
Here is what millionaires think and do to eliminate or reduce fears and worries:
1. Hard work
2. Believe in yourself
3. Preparation
4. Focus on key issues
5. Be decisive
Think about what you’d really like to have or achieve. Then talk to people who have already done it. Find out what they did and how they got it, and follow their model. I’d highly recommend reading about the real millionaires so that you can start acting like them.
That, by the way, is one of the reasons why life coaching is so effective—a great Life Coach will help you blast through the limiting beliefs and assumptions holding you back—beliefs you might not even know you had. To learn more about 1:1 life coaching and how working with a life coach can get you on the path to financial freedom and more importantly, happiness, click here.
