Far too often, we’re led to believe at a young age that there’s a limit to how much we can earn … and it’s high time to shake that idea.
If you’ve Googled “how to become a millionaire”, even in half jest, you’re one of tens of millions who dream of becoming financially independent, yet may not be sure where to start or whether you have the capacity. I was at that place — doubting my ability to break through the mental barriers that kept me from my goals. In early days of becoming financially independent, one of the things I had to work hardest at was creating a better mindset… quieting that negative voice in my head (or the voices of those around me) that injected doubt.
The simple and happy truth is that we are all capable of becoming rich in our own way, and it’s not as daunting a task as many are raised to believe. But first, it’s vital to develop the mindset of a millionaire and to start thinking about financial independence as something already created — all that’s needed is the time and focus required to get there.
Here are a few tips to help you train your brain to that end.
Think about “future you”
The majority of people live in the now. World-changing traumas such as the pandemic added fuel to this outlook as billions shifted into survival mode, but if you want to become wealthy, it’s vital to consider where you need to be five, 10, 30 years from now. A 2017 Institute for the Future survey found that a staggering 53% of respondents didn’t think at all about what will happen to them in 30 years, and that 60% thought only about the close future (one month). Such an approach makes building wealth virtually impossible.
Shake off society’s thoughts
There are a number of assumed prerequisites about becoming wealthy, including that the process must feature a formal education (a Ph.D. or Masters in Business, say). But a significant percentage of world’s wealthiest people taught themselves how to earn money without the assistance of a textbook, or via avenues that had nothing to do with prior schooling. Jeff Bezos graduated with degrees in electrical engineering and computer science, yet grew a giant online retail business from his garage and became the world’s wealthiest man. Steve Jobs, meanwhile, was a university dropout who often said that leaving higher learning was one of the best decisions he ever made.
