8 Steps to Becoming Wealthy in Every Sense Of The Word
“Success is making those that believed in you look brilliant”
For me, money doesn’t matter all that much, but it did at one time (probably because I didn’t have much). So, let’s say money is on your list and, like millions of others, that you’d like to be a millionaire.
What kinds of things should you do to increase your chances of joining the millionaire’s club?
Here are the steps I’d suggest. They’re neither fast nor easy. But, they’re more likely to work than the quick and easy path.
Step 1 - Stop obsessing about money
While it sounds counter-intuitive, maintaining a laser-like focus on how much you make distracts you from doing the things that truly contribute to building and growing wealth. So shift your perspective.
“See money not as the primary goal but as a by-product of doing the right things.”
STEP 2 - Start tracking how many people you help, even in a very small way
The most successful people I know – financially and in other ways – are shockingly helpful. They’re incredibly good at understanding other people and helping them achieve their goals. They know their success is ultimately based on the success of the people around them. So they work hard to make other people successful: Their employees, their customers, their vendors and suppliers… because they know, if they can do that, then their own success will surely follow.
Step 3 - Stop thinking about making a million rand and start thinking about serving a million people
When you only have a few customers and your goal is to make a lot of money, you’re incentivised to wring every last cent out of those customers. But when you find a way to serve a million people, many other benefits follow. The effect of word-of-mouth is magnified. The feedback you receive is exponentially greater – and so are your opportunities to improve your products and services. You get to hire more employees and benefit from their experience, their skills, and their awesomeness.
And, in time, your business becomes something you never dreamed of – because your customers and your employees have taken you to places you couldn’t even imagine. Serve a million people well and the money will follow.
Step 4 - See making money as a way to make more things
Generally speaking there are two types of people. One makes things because they want to make money; the more things they make, the more money they make. What they make doesn’t really matter that much to them – as long as it pays.
The other wants to make money because it allows them to make more things. They want to improve their product and to extend their line. They love what they make and they see making money as a way to do even more of what they love.
They dream of building a company that makes the best things possible… and making money is the way to fuel that dream and build that company they love.
While it is certainly possible to find that one product that everyone wants and grow rich by selling that product, most successful businesses evolve and grow and as they make money, and then reinvest that money in a relentless pursuit of excellence.
Step 5 - Do one thing better
Pick one thing you’re better at than most people. Become maniacally focused at doing that one thing. Work. Train. Learn. Practice. Evaluate. Refine. Be ruthlessly self-critical, not in a masochistic way but to ensure you continue to improve every aspect of that one thing.
Financially successful people do at least one thing better than just about everyone around them. (It helps if you pick something that the world values – and will pay for.)
Excellence is its own reward, but excellence also commands higher pay – and greater respect, greater feelings of self-worth, greater fulfilment, a greater sense of achievement… all of which make you rich in non-monetary terms.
Step 6 - Make a list of the world’s ten people best at that one thing
How did you pick those ten? How did you determine who was the ‘best’? How did you measure their ‘success’?
Use those criteria to track your own progress towards becoming the best.
If you’re an author it could be Amazon rankings, a musician, iTunes downloads, a programmer, the number of people that use your software. If you’re a leader it could be the number of people you train and develop who move on to bigger things. If you’re an online retailer it could be purchases per visitor, or on-time shipping, or conversion rate.
Don’t just admire successful people. Take a close look at what makes them successful. Then use this criteria to help create your own measures of success. And then…
Step 7- Consistently track your progress
We tend to become what we measure, so track your progress at least once a week against your key measures.
Maybe you’ll measure how many people you’ve helped or how many customers you’ve served. Maybe you’ll evaluate the key steps on your journey to becoming the world’s best at one thing. Maybe it’s a combination of those things, and more.
Step 8 - Build routines that ensure progress
Never forget that achieving a goal is based on creating routines. Say you want to land 100 new customers through inbound marketing.
That’s your goal; your routine is to create new content, new videos, new podcasts, new white papers, etc. on whatever schedule you set. Stick to that routine and meet your deadlines and if your content is great you will land those new customers.
Wishing and hoping won’t get you there – sticking faithfully to your routine will. Set goals, create routines that support those goals, and then ruthlessly track your progress. Fix what doesn’t work. Improve and repeat what does. Refine, revise, adapt and work hard every day to be better than you were yesterday.
Soon you’ll be good, then great. And one day you’ll be world-class. And then, probably without even noticing, you’ll also be a millionaire, if you like that sort of thing.
