I spent five years studying the daily activities of wealthy individuals.
One of the many things I learned is that self-made millionaires have a very different understanding about money than non-millionaires.
I’d like to share some of the myth’s about money I uncovered in my research.
Myth #1 Millionaires Take Aggressive Risks With Their Money
False.
Self-made millionaires take Educated Risks, not Aggressive Risks. They study investments for months before deciding to invest any of their money. They eschew emotion-based “can’t lose” investments that always seem to do the very opposite.
If you do not do your homework, you are not investing, you are gambling. Doing your homework takes the risk out of investing.
Myth #2 All Debt is Bad
False.
There is Good Debt and there is Bad Debt.
Fifty-one percent of the self-made millionaires in my study were entrepreneurs. They started up companies and then ran them as if their life depended on it. They took Educated Risks with their money that most were unwilling or too afraid to take.
And they did not shy away from debt. In fact, many took on enormous debt to start, grow or expand their businesses. They used debt to create a business asset that would eventually generate significant profits and make them rich.
That’s good debt.
Bad debt is debt that you use to finance a standard of living in which your monthly expenses exceed your monthly income.
If you have to rely on debt to finance your standard of living, you are, by definition, living beyond your means.
Myth #3 The Rich Are Rich Because They Are Lucky
True and False
Good luck comes in two flavors: Random Good Luck and Opportunity Luck.
To the rich-haters out there, random good luck is why the rich are rich.
That is False.
Opportunity Luck is why the rich are rich.
Opportunity Luck is a unique type of luck the rich create as a result of utilizing habits to pursue their dreams. When you have success habits, you automate success by consistently doing that which you need to do in order to achieve your goals and realize your dreams.
Success habits give the appearance you are persistent, when, in fact, you are just consistent.
Good daily habits are nothing more than automated persistent behaviors that help get you closer to achieving the goals behind your dreams. Good daily habits attract Opportunity Luck.
Myth #4 The Pursuit of Wealth is Nothing But Greed
False.
Most of the self-made millionaires in my study had numerous reasons for pursuing wealth, which had nothing to do with greed.
The Saver-Investors in my study simply wanted to become financially free at some point down the road. To that end, they lived modestly, saved and then prudently invested their savings.
The Corporate Executives in my study joined large publicly-held corporations because those corporations had resources to train them and help them grow their knowledge-base and expertise. Large corporations also offer more opportunities than smaller companies.
The Virtuosos in my study were motivated to become experts in their field. They wanted to be the best at what they did.
The Dreamers-Entrepreneurs in my study were motivated to pursue something that made their heart sing – something they loved doing.
Myth #5 A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned
False.
A penny invested is ten pennies earned. The rich in my study invested their money in one of five places: their dream, publicly-held companies, private companies, retirement vehicles or real estate.
If you want to be rich, you must learn how to invest your money.
My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!
About Thomas C. Corley
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