Forget “starting from scratch,” imagine launching yourself from a rocket ship aimed straight at success! You’re 18, fresh out of high school, and the world is your oyster (with a million pearls inside!). Your mission: Become a multi-millionaire by 35. And guess what? You have the ultimate cheat code – the distilled wisdom of your future self! Here’s your personalized launchpad to blast off.
Here’s exactly what I would do if I were starting over today. 1: Get a degree. Match strengths with the highest-paying career field and go after it. No liberal arts B.S. Go to college to earn, not learn. 2: Switch companies every 4 years. Easy money. It’s been proven that the best way to get a raise is to change jobs. It’s worked for me during my working career. 3: Marry right. There’s no reward for marrying early. But, there’s a HUGE punishment for marrying wrong. Don’t rush, marry right. 4: Say “yes” to everything. In over your head? Who cares. Figure it out. Riches come to those who say yes to opportunities. 5: Cut losers. If they’re not in to win, they’re out. 6: Heavily use credit cards (and pay them off every month). Hello, travel points, cash-back rewards, and an 800 credit score. Good credit saves you money and gives you better rates on loans, insurance, etc. 7: Start AT LEAST three businesses. The wealthiest people start their own companies. If one fails, start another. 8: Ignore haters. When you don’t act like a normal person, normal people will criticize you. That’s okay. It means you’re doing it right. 9: Invest at least 25% of your income. If your expenses are too high, CUT THEM. Investing is more important than your BMW. 10: Show up every day. Be the first one in the office. Stop taking sick days because you want to go shopping. That won’t get you rich. 11: Shut off the news. The news is only opinion anymore, not facts. It will make you afraid. Scared people 100% have compromised emotional intelligence. 12: Automate everything. 401(k)s. Brokerage accounts. Bill pay. Everything is on auto-pilot. Automatic wealth. 13: Index and chill. Don’t day trade. 5% max in individual stocks. There’s a reason why index funds outperform most other assets. 14: NEVER keep up with the Joneses. They’re broke. 15: Learn from millionaires. Make friends with them. Ask them questions. They are the best teachers. 16: Stop sucking. Put in the work to be better. Lazy is average. Average is how you stay poor. Raise your standards and exceed them. 17: Stop being easily offended. If it’s easy to offend you, you’ll never get rich (unless you’re a highly-paid political pundent). 18: Wait to have kids. Controversial, but it works. Kids are expensive. If your priority is $1M by 35, no kids will make it 1000x easier. There ya have it. $1,000,000 by 35 by shutting out the distractions and focusing entirely on building wealth quickly. Then, you can coast all the way to traditional retirement at 65 or retiring early and living a stress-free life. |