You do not have to be born wealthy before you can achieve great things in your life and it’s not only when you’re born into a wealthy home that you can also be wealthy. You can start from scratch and end up being a wealthy person. Most of the richest people in the world today are from humble backgrounds and started their business from the ground up. Growing up poor didn’t stop them from reaching the peak of success and it should not stop you either.
The world is full of people who only complain about everything but do nothing at all. They keep wondering how to become self-made millionaires with nothing. You actually have to take responsibility for anything that is happening to you, that’s what all self-made millionaires do and you can’t skip that.
The change starts from the inside and this is where responsibility make the difference
It actually helps when you’re born into a wealthy home, it makes the journey easier but that isn’t the only way. Anyone can become rich, according to Grant Cardone. He wrote in his book titled The Millionaire Booklet: How to Get Super Rich that “Regardless of your current economic condition, where you live, or what you do, you can become wealthy.” Grant Cardone is a self-made millionaire. He is an entrepreneur who owns and operates 4 companies and earns nearly 100 million dollars annually.
Cardone went from being broke to becoming really wealthy by following a few simple steps which I’ll be sharing with you:
Mentally commit.
Your mindset is important in getting rich. You have to first believe that you can truly accumulate wealth. The biggest mistake you can make as a person is to think it is impossible to become a millionaire. So the first thing you have to do is to decide to become either a millionaire or a billionaire, whichever one you want then reinforce that decision.
• Do the math. Next, you calculate the numbers to know what it actually takes to achieve your goal. To achieve any goal, it must be realistic and you must believe in it. You then plan how many different ways you can make the money. Cardone says “If you can figure out a way to get 5,000 people to buy a $200 product, you’d have $1 million. Or, if 5,000 people paid you $17 a month for 12 months, that would also get you to $1 million.”
The point stands do the math to make your plan possible then strategize.
• Increase your income. After doing the math and you’ve realized how real it is to become wealthy, you need to increase your income streams. There are different ways to increase your income these days, you can write for blogs, edit for authors, release a podcast, the list is unending. Additional income streams can also be real estate rentals, side businesses, stock market investments, or part-time jobs like driving, teaching, and so on.
• Find out wealthy people and spend time with them. Make research about those who have money, the type of money you want, and figure out what you can exchange with them. It could be a product or a service. You need to have a connection with those who have money already and exchange your skill and knowledge with the money they have. There’s no shortage of money, you just need to get those who have it and providing value to them.
• Stay broke. No matter the amount you earn, stay broke. Don’t let your money sit around. Always increase your income and move the surpluses to accounts out of your reach and for future investments. Also, when you’re broke, you’ll be motivated to work for more money. You’ll be forced to continue producing new revenue
• Save to invest, don’t save to save. The only reason to save money is to invest in one day. Cardone’s steps are just the beginning. You’ll need to repeat and reinforce these steps to continue building wealth.
You can be richer if you simply think bigger from the beginning, then focus and repeat these steps. If you need the inspiration to start your own business or you need to learn how to become a billionaire, read how these famous wealthy people made it to the top. There’s a lesson to learn in these stories.
1. Oprah Winfrey: she is best known for her popular talk show called The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah was born into poverty in a rural town in Mississippi. She was raped at the age of 9 and was also sexually abused during her teenage age. She said: “I grew up in an environment where children were seen and not heard.” Despite her poor background, she is now a talk show host, a media executive, a producer, an actress, and a billionaire philanthropist. She is also the first black woman to become a billionaire.
2. Howard Schultz: he is the ex-CEO of Starbucks. He grew up in a subsidized housing complex for poor people in Brooklyn. He said: “Growing up I always felt like I was living on the other side of the tracks. I knew the people on the other side had more resources, more money, happier families.” Schultz was named the 145th richest person in the United States by Forbes in 2019 with a net worth of 4.1 billion dollars. Starbucks has more than 30,000 stores all around the world.
3. Celine Dion: is a famous French-Canadian singer. She is well known for her hit song titled “My heart will go on.” She was born as the youngest child among 14 siblings. With a family as big as this, she grew up poor. Her father used to eat 160 dollars per week to support the family. She said: “We were three, four in the same bed. I did not have a bedroom. Up the stairs, before going into the bedrooms, there was a little ramp. And my bed was there. So everybody went up, they saw me, and I could wave goodbye and goodnight.” Despite this, she had a great passion for music and she had the support of her family. With over 220 million records sold worldwide, her net worth as of 2019 was 800 million dollars.
Other wealthy people like Steve Jobs, Ed Sheeran, Selena Gomez, Leonardo DiCaprio, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Shahid Khan, J.K. Rowling, and Ralph Lauren all came from a poor background. Being poor didn’t stop them from chasing their dreams and Bec wealthy. So it shouldn’t stop you too.
The research called Rich Habits done by Thomas C. Corey on 233 millionaires shows that out of the 233 millionaires, 177 were self-made and the remaining inherited their money. Out of the 177 self-made, 59 percent came from middle-class households while 42 percent came from poor households. With that, growing up poor might have some driving forces to make you successful in the future. They include:
• You learn to live economically. A poor person will be forced to live economically. The person will only buy what he or she needs and not unnecessary things. You’ll learn to save a lot. In Corey’s research, 49 percent of the millionaires followed the same path to success. They lived below their means, they saved consistently, invested the money they saved. With frugal living, you can save so much, you just have to discipline yourself to invest the money you save.
• You learn to be creative. When you have less money, you become creative. According to a study by Forbes that examined how a sense of abundance affects creativity, it was reported that abundant resources may have a negative impact on creativity. When you have fewer resources, you’ll use them well.
Ravi Metha, the lead author said “If you go to a poor country and see how they solve problems by repurposing older products, it’s super-innovative.” When there are limited resources, you’ll be forced to use your imagination to create what you want. You’ll learn to be a resourceful person. You’ll make good use of what you have in your hands.
• You have a strong desire to change. Even though it is not everyone that wants to be super rich, nobody wants to be poor. No one likes to struggle bro make ends meet. Everyone likes to live a comfortable life, to eat what they like, live where they want, and wear what they love.
Corley said: “Poverty can either beat you down or make you stronger.” It depends on your mindset as said earlier. Being poor can either be your excuse or your motivation.
Howard Schultz said: “In life, you can blame a lot of people and you can wallow in self-pity, or you can pick yourself up and say, listen, I have to be responsible for myself.”
If you strongly desire to change your life and you’re willing to die for it, you will definitely succeed. Hard work, perseverance and consistency are the open secrets to success.
• You appreciate every single opportunity. Sincerely, not born rich is like missing a head start. You lose opportunities and advantages like good education, connection, good health, and more. These are the reason every poor person appreciates opportunities more. They would brace every chance and work so hard to achieve success. Poverty makes them more grateful for whatever opportunities they have, they don’t take things for granted. They are easier to be satisfied.
• You have fewer worries. You have lesser things to worry about. Your major concern is money. Your focus is to make money and more money because money is the only thing that can solve most of your current problems.
• You are more cautious with failures. Failing means going back to poverty, losing your job means going back into poverty and you would want to avoid that. So you’ll do all you can to succeed.
Failing means going back to poverty. Losing your job means your financial crisis will come back. You want to avoid that. You don’t have a safety net. You have to succeed. Howard Schultz said: “I think my whole life, because of where I came from, I had a fear of failure.” You can’t be too careful, you are only cautious in making decisions so you’ll not make mistakes. Making lesser mistakes will help you achieve success faster. Most importantly, you become more responsible and won’t give up easily.
• They have an “adapt or die” mindset. Poor people grew up in a less decent environment and have little money, therefore, they are highly resourceful. When the money you have can’t buy what you need, you either learn to live without it or create it yourself.
• You have more true friends. Oprah said: “Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” Rich people are surrounded by fake friends. The good thing about starting poorly is that you don’t have to deal with fake friends. You have those who will be there for you during your difficult times. Those are your true friends. They do not have plans to take financial advantage of you when you become rich.
According to Howard Schultz, Success is empty if you arrive at the finish line alone.
• You have nothing to lose. When you are at your worst, there’s nothing that could be worse and there’s only one way to go which is UP. Oprah said: “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire.”
CONCLUSION
Of course, growing up poor is not the success formula. Nevertheless, you don’t have to be born wealthy to become rich. You just have to take advantage of your poverty and you will see a higher chance of success. Oprah Winfrey said, “Turn your wounds into wisdom.”
So, how do you become a self-made millionaire with no money? Sit down, make plans, that include what you need to read, what changes you are making in your daily routine, and where you want to be in the next few years from now.