Is it a goal in life to be rich? You bet, but it just isn’t the number one goal. For me at least, health and happiness top being rich. It said by some people that you can only be successful at 2 out of 3 of these main goals. People who claim this just haven’t been able to pull it off. As long as you set out to achieve all three goals, it is definately possible.
Since I am currently both healthy and happy with my life … I feel the time has come to focus on that number 3 goal: becoming rich. Have you ever wondered what it is that rich people have in common? And with rich people I don’t mean people who make 100.000,- per year. I mean the really, REALLY rich people. Those who, if they’d want, probably don’t have to work another day in their live. Nor would their kids. Or their kids’ kids.
How many people can you name that you would consider to be amongst that group of really rich people? People like Bill Gates or Richard Branson come to mind. What is it that sets these people apart from the other 99% of people, who will never be that rich? What makes them succeed where others fail?
Entrepreneurship
The first thing you must understand is that the single most important aspect of becoming rich is simply that you have to be an entrepreneur. Nothing except winning the lottery will get you rich other than being an entrepreneur. But what about soccer players? Well … they have their own business, which in effect makes them entrepreneurs. The same goes for other athletes, actors and top business men alike. None of them are employed.
Why is this so important? Well, it is a matter of trading security for chance. If you’re employed, you have the security of a steady monthly income, but the risk lies with your employer. When you are an entrepreneur, thus have to pay your own salary, you take the risk. But with that risk also comes that chance. That one chance to build a business that makes you millions a year. Would you ever want to give that up for a steady monthly income!?
Determination
The second thing you need to have is determination. You have to absolutely, positively be 100% sure that you will become rich. There is no middle ground here if becoming rich is a goal. You simply have to believe that you will make millions in the future. You have to be able to picture yourself being rich and it must feel natural.
There are also people who become rich for whom it is not a goal to become rich. For those people determination is also a key factor however. A favorite example for me is Dr. Eli Harari, the C.E.O. and founder of SanDisk. SanDisk owns the patents for non-volatile semiconductor storage. Or flash memory as we now popularly call it. His determination that this way of storage was possible, was what led to the invention in the first place. After that, his determination that one day this technology would be a leading storage platform was what kept him going.
This was all before the digital camera was invented. The invention of the digital camera for the consumer market and the adoption of Internet meant that his storage devices took a giant leap in popularity. These days SanDisk is a multi-billion dollar company. All because of 1 man’s determination.
Balancing act
While on the road to becoming rich, make sure you never lose sight of being successful. Being successful is NOT the same as being rich. Success for me is about being healthy and happy more than being rich. If at any time during your journey to becoming rich you have to decide between money and happiness/health, make sure you never choose money. There are countless examples of people who are worth hundreds of millions but are not happy. Don’t become one of them.
Tue, Aug 11, 2009
Entrepreneurship, Self Improvement