How many millionaires are there in the United States? What
If I told you that just in 2019, 900K people became millionaires. And now try
to guess the total number, it's in millions, to be exact, there are over 13
million millionaires just in the US! and now try to imagine how many
millionaires are there worldwide! The world is actually filled with
millionaires! Every single day, thousands of people join the club. However, If
you give it a closer look, all millionaires can be divided into 3 categories, because,
there are essentially 3 ways to become a self-made millionaire unless your dad
will give you a small loan of a million-dollar, and that will be the fourth
way. By the way, contrary to the popular belief. Only 20 percent of
millionaires have inherited their wealth, the other 80 percent made it with
their blood and sweat. In fact, out of 2604 billionaires worldwide, 56% of them
are self-made. So even if you are not born with a silver spoon in your mouth,
your chances to become one are reasonable There are basically 3 financially
paths you can take! Sidewalk, Slowlane, and The Fastlane!
1. Slowlane is get rich slow formula, or get rich old where
you will be on a wheelchair! The Slowlane is your typical parent's advice: Go
to school, get good grades, graduate, get a good job, save 10%, invest in the
stock market, max your 401k, clip coupons…then, someday, when you are, oh, 65,
maybe 70 years old, you will be rich. Congratulations, you have made it! The
problem with the Slowlane is that you will have to sacrifice your entire life
so that you can live your dream life when you are in a wheelchair. Which I
don't really like because once you are old, you can’t get back young again, Time
is out of your hands. So as your income, you can’t double it or triple it every
year, try asking your boss for a 100 percent raise, you will most likely get
fired! So, If you decide to take this path, remember, you are not going to
drive that Ferrari while you are young, you are not gonna travel and have
adventures because it's quite difficult to do that when you are 70. You will
live like a slave waiting for Friday to celebrate your freedom and then get
back to slavery on Monday. If buffet started investing when he was just 11
years and only made his first million by the age of 31. How long do you think
it will take you to make even a million dollars when you haven’t even invested
a single dime in the stock market yet and you are 25! Nonetheless, its probably
the best strategy for most people. Although you will have a boring mediocre
life, you will have a financial plan that works! Even if it's not exciting. You
will be a millionaire in 30 or 40 years. In fact, a considerable number of
millionaires in the US have taken this path. It's safe, secure and guaranteed
and better than the second option - The Sidewalk.
2. Sidewalker The Sildewalkers are usually one step away
from bankruptcy, because they are more bothered about living their dream life
today and aren’t much into the future. They can even make millions of dollars
but still, end up poor like a professional athlete or an actor. Your album
fails, you get injured, you get homeless and file for bankruptcy. Even if you
have a prosperous carrier, chances that you will remain a millionaire after you
retire are really low. 78% of NFL players are either bankrupt or under
financial stress within 2 years of retirement. 60 percent of NBA players go
bankrupt after 5 years of ending their career. Imagine making millions of
dollars but still Go broke. it sounds unbelievable, but that’s what happens
when you decide to become a pro athlete. There isn't time for financial education,
You have to work hard day and night to be at the top, there will be people who
are more talented than you or simply have better genetics. The number of
athletes who end up making it to the pro level are less than 1 percent. While
you are having the greatest years of your career, you get used to a certain
lifestyle that’s completely taken care by your muti million dollar salary, and
once you retire its difficult to get back to an average life. SO you go broke
in few years. The number of athletes who build a sustainable business while
making it to the top like Michael Jordan are an extremely small minority. And
even those who end up earning 400 million dollars like Tyson did can still go
absolutely broke! The worst part about it is that. With the rise of social
media, everyone is taking the sidewalk. You pull out your phone and see how
these people are driving ferries and living their dream lives. and You don't
want to be left behind, You might be working hard, but whatever money you make,
you spend it on the next great gadget, on the next trip so that you have
something to post on your Instagram. On a more expensive car. Sidewalkers are
trapped in such a lifestyle where they are driven by their urgent instant need
for pleasure. Every dime you make will directly go to your car payment,
clothes, whatever. You are not worried about the future because you think that
someday, sometime in the future you will hit big. but you most probably won't.
So it's not the wisest option to take!
3. Fastlane And then there is the Fastlane. The whole idea
behind it is that, instead of sacrificing today for tomorrow or tomorrow for
today. Get out and provide value to as many people as possible. You see most of
us are consumers because to provide value, you need to have something first.
And most people do not take the time and effort to build themselves up to a
point where they will have something to give. Mark Zuckerberg became a
billionaire in just a few years because he provided a platform to millions of
people to socialize. If you give it a closer a look, the purpose of any
business is to give value in different ways, the store besides your house
provides you with the groceries, the restaurant downside the road provides you
with the food. Your favorite YouTuber provides you with content that you find
interesting. Amazon saves you the time and makes shopping much easier! And what
makes this path much more appealing than the other two, There is no limit to
how much you can make! You want to triple your income in the next 3 month, It's
under your control! You don't have to beg your boss for a 5 percent raise like
the Slow laners do. And you are not scarifying your future like the sidewalks
do because Fast laners take that money and buy real estate, patents, businesses
that will keep raising their income.
The challenge with the Fast lane is that you will have to
spend first an enormous amount of time to create something that will truly
bring value to a substantial number of people. Of course, it's not easy, and
most people would never be able to do that, because the other path looks more
appealing since that’s what being rich means to most people. But “When you finance an $80,000 Mercedes Benz over
six years because that's all you could afford, that isn't wealth, but the
impersonation of wealth. You are Fooling yourself. It still blows my mind how
people travel while not having even a thousand dollars in their savings
account. Wealth isn't embodied in a car or clothes but in the freedom to know
that you can buy it. That's why it's easy to find self-made not only
millionaire but billionaires who are cheap because they know that they have the
freedom to afford pretty much anything anytime they want. On the other side,
you have people who haven't paid their students loans yet but are completely comfortable
to take another loan to show everyone how successful they are. People don’t
choose to be poor. They make poor decisions that slowly lead them into that
direction.
Conclusion So here are the 3 financial roads that you can
take to become a millionaire. Of course, the Fast lane is the most rewarding
one where you can become a millionaire in just a few years and stay one for the
rest of your life., but its also the most challenging one, which is why most people
won't take it, but being a Side walker isn't sustainable, that's why the Slow lane
is probably the best option for most people. This Article is based on a book,
the Millionaire Fast lane by MJ Demarco, It's a brilliant read which I recommend
to everyone. It's quite different from all other books on this subject. Thanks
for Reading and Until next time.
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