Why I am (not) a millionaire
The web “keeps me enthralled” (in the old sense of the phrase). On any given day, I can find something new to read; more often than not, I’m forced to reflect on something or other that is of personal interest.
Why, just today, I was reminded that there are certain things that those who will be millionaires have to do when they’re in their twenties. No, not inherit a million, although that works. Rather, there are personal habits that must become part of the persona. Since I am not a millionaire, I missed some of them, but it is good to review.
#1: Develop multiple income sources. I tried. Oh, how I tried. It seems that any number of poorly paid temporary jobs isn’t adequate.
#2: Take action. OK, I didn’t push enough. Or pull. Pardon my reticence to come across as pushy with others. Or pull-y. Is that a thing?
#3: Make sure that you own your time. A quick confession. I didn’t ever get into the habit of wearing a wrist watch. When my time seemed adequate, in keeping with my responsibilities, why wear jewelry?
#4: Network. Sorry. IN my day, we didn’t have networks. Oh, you mean the other kind? OK, so I didn’t spend my time (see above, lots of that) trying to get close to others. Introversion is a thing.
#5: Think strategically. Now, that I did do. Without a car, or public transit, or even a bicycle for much of the winter months, I had to figure out how to get from here to there, every day. Strategy is required.
#6: Shoot higher than seems reasonable. Let me think about that.
#7: Learn to sell. I once tried selling boxes of Xmas cards. It didn’t go well.
#8: Try to be a good friend or colleague. I THINK that I did. Please check with some of my friends and colleagues.
#9: Invest. If I could have, I would have.
#10: Watch the spending. That was easy. We used to have pennies, and I used to count them to avoid embarrassment in retail situations.
#11: Learn to negotiate. See introversion.
#12: Find mentors. I did, and I learned lots of stuff along the way.
#13: Invest in education. I did. Where do you think I spent all my money?
#14: Avoid slavery. Not a thing, where I lived.
#15: Volunteer. I did, because that was a thing, where I lived.
#16: Work your butt off. Have you seen my butt?
#17: Embrace entrepreneurship. I did. Sadly, my prices were always in the “low to moderate” category, and the profits suffered,
#18: Have fun and adventures. I did, sort of. Cheap fun, cheap adventure, but sufficient.
#19: Self-belief. Now that, I had. Still do. Not enough to generate millions on my behalf, I guess.
Oh yes, the original article is here.
