Belief #1: there are no shortcuts. First things first: millionaires know (through hard experience) that there are no shortcuts to building wealth, no secret to becoming a better investor, no “magic potion” that will suddenly turn you into a master of money management. Most millionaires got that way by diving in and putting their money to work, learning from their mistakes and building their knowledge and acumen over a number of years, or even decades in many cases. And, while some have indeed become wealthy on a single big trade or large asset sale, most will tell you that the one event which made them wealthy was actually the product of years of personal effort, research and perhaps even luck, rather than some kind of “get rich quick” process or born-with-it ability which a lot of people assume that they have. Belief #2: wealth building is about more than making money. Most millionaires have, by definition, made a lot of money. At the same time, most of them have been driven to this level of success by some kind of higher purpose: they want to grow and secure their wealth for some reason beyond the sheer joy of counting dollars or buying more “bling.” And that higher purpose gave them the motivation to learn, to get better and to make wealth building a core of their lives which, in turn, made them financially successful. There’s wisdom there for the rest of us: whether you want to provide a high quality of life for your family, to secure your own financial independence, build a business or accomplish some other life goal, the drive or direction behind your effort to build wealth will be more effective if there’s something behind it other than the desire for “more.” Belief #3: a cool head beats a high IQ. Contrary to popular belief, most millionaires are a pretty humble lot. They’re generally quick to acknowledge that they aren’t the smartest people in the room, and that there are plenty of things about the world (and about the financial arena) which they don’t know. But when it comes to resilience, discipline, patience and self-control, they would likely all agree that those are qualities which have had a direct impact on their investment success and their ability to make good money decisions. And they all acknowledge that the abilities to stay calm, stay rational and look for the opportunity that lies within every crisis are far more important than raw intelligence. Think of that the next time the stock market takes a turn for the worse. Finance CSANews | SPRING 2024 | 27
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