Did you know that all millionaires have certain traits in common?
What if you could figure out what those traits are? Better yet, what if you could actually copy those traits?
Dr. Thomas Stanley had those very questions. He started researching millionaires back in the 1990s.
After years of study, he wrote what went on to become a best-seller, “The Millionaire Next Door.”
In that book, Stanley shared the interviews and survey he conducted with the wealthiest people among us.
A few years later he followed up with a second book called “The Millionaire Mind.”
In that book, Stanley unearths the “secret” attitudes, traits, work habits and inner thoughts that rich people have in common.
His goal was to identify these traits so that the average person struggling to become a millionaire might have a model for success.
Stanley identified 10 common factors that make millionaires successful.
We’re going to reframe them as…
The 10 Commandments of Financial Success
1. Be honest with all people
2. Practice self-discipline
3. Get along with people
4. Find a supportive spouse/partner
5. Work harder than your peers
6. Love your chosen career/business
7. Develop strong leadership qualities
8. Be a competitor
9. Get (and stay) organized
10. Learn to sell your ideas/products
These commandments look straightforward on the surface. Simple even.
But, as they say, “the devil is in the details.”
The problem is, these traits don’t come naturally to most people (at least not all of them).
The good news is, these traits can be developed and honed.
It may take some self-work. Being honest with yourself. Identifying your own roadblocks to success. Taking action to correct bad habits.
But it can be done! YOU can do it.
But before we go any further, please scan those commandments one more time.
Do you notice anything that’s missing?
Success Is Not About Money
There is nothing about money in the success commandments.
Which sounds kind of funny. After all, the definition of a millionaire is someone who has at least a million dollars, right?
But how you get there is not to focus on the money … but to focus on relationships (1,3,4,7), character (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8), and work habits (2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10).
When you take the time to develop relationships with people, it will open many doors to you, personally and professionally. But don’t do it just to get something out of it for yourself.
People can sniff out fake sincerity and self-serving interest a mile away. In the end, bogus relationship-building will hurt you.
Character is something many people think you are born with and can’t change. But that’s not true.
Yes, character can be affected by the environment in which you were raised. But it can also be learned and developed (and re-learned if necessary).
For example, one danger of being raised with a scarcity mentality is that money can become the sole focus of life. Money becomes the goal at all costs. And it can warp character.
For a person who is only money-focused, commandment number one devolves into “Get money any way you can, even if it means being dishonest with people.”
But when you change your mindset and focus on ALWAYS being honest with all people, it frees you up to build deep relationships … which can lead to success in many areas of your life, not just financially.
Finally, work habits are critical to success. Many outsiders look at millionaires and see the end result. They don’t see the years of struggle and hard work that went into it.
They see rich people taking vacations and enjoying life. They figure they must not really work that hard. That their wealth was handed to them. Or that they just got “lucky.”
“Not so” says Stanley in his book. Most millionaires rate luck very low on the scale of success factors. And the consensus among those who do mention a “lucky break” seems to be “the harder you work, the luckier you get.”
Which means that when you put these 10 commandments into practice, opportunities come flying your way. People want to do business with you. Other successful people want to partner with you.
How Living Legacy Fits In
We started off by asking whether you have what it takes to be a millionaire.
If you are an Living Legacy Association group member, we believe you DO already have what it takes. You may just need to develop it. Practice it. Put in the “hard work.”
And if you aren’t part of Living Legacy yet, well…
…we can help.
You see, Living Legacy Group is not just about a set of investment strategies.
Yes, we discuss investment strategies. And they are incredibly powerful tools.
But like any tool, they are only as useful as the person wielding them.
So our goal at LLA is to empower you to become the best you can be, To find success in life so that you can live with the freedom to live life on your terms.
So that you can use the tools we give you to make your own life (and the world) a better place.
So that you can empower others to do the same.
Together, we can change the world, one person at a time.
But it starts with YOU.
Putting these success commandments into practice in your life (even little by little) will propel you to levels of success you may have thought were reserved for others.
You might even want to print these 10 commandments out and tape them next to your computer monitor or somewhere where you can review them each day.
Your Partner in Prosperity
The Living Legacy Association Research Team
One Response
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