What’s the secret to success? It seems like more and more people are able to create massive fortunes before the age of 30. Well it turns out that young millionaires set themselves apart through a certain set of traits.
Here are six traits that all young millionaires have in common.
They chart their own course
The few who reach millionaire status at a young age did not follow the masses. They did not opt in for the easy road. They charted their own course and they never looked back even once.
Playing it safe is rarely something that young millionaires consider. Sure they are good at managing risk, but they take risks nonetheless. They refuse to limit themselves based on other people’s opinions and rules. It’s no coincidence that the vast majority of young millionaires are also entrepreneurs. This is because entrepreneurs dictate their own schedules. They refuse to be told how to spend their time.
They embrace failure with open arms
Someone once said, “It’s fine to celebrate success but it’s more important to heed the lessons of failure”. That someone was Bill Gates.
Successful people were not destined for success. They achieved their dreams through overcoming challenges and failing time after time. As Bill Gates puts it, they actually welcome failure. The reason is because failure is one of the biggest opportunities you have to learn and grow. This doesn’t mean you should be sloppy and set yourself up for failure. It simply means you should take calculated risks and don’t be afraid of things not working out. When things do go south, always take the opportunity to learn and make sure you don’t make the same mistakes twice.
They seek knowledge from non-traditional sources
You need to take this one with a grain of salt because it’s key that you understand the message here. There’s a negative stigma around traditional education and it’s negative affect on entrepreneurship. Sure not all young millionaires have a traditional education, in fact a lot of them never earned a college degree. What they did have though, is a solid plan and the desire to learn from other sources.
You need to develop the habit of reading for at least 30 to 45 minutes a day. You don’t need to confine yourself to books either. Articles and other materials also serve as a great place to increase your knowledge base and give you alternative views. When you aren’t reading you should be trying new things. Take a few odd jobs that are out of your comfort zone. Don’t like sales? Go take a sales position for a few months. The point is those who chose to forego traditional education, make an effort each and every day to learn new skills and gain knowledge.
They figured out how to monetize their passion
We’re often told that we should pursue our passion and the money will come. This statement definitely holds some truth. The truth is that you should always follow your passion in life. The assumption that money will come regardless is not always true.
To make millions in your youth it requires sheer drive and determination. There will be months where you’re barely getting by. You’ll be on the “ramen noodle diet” for weeks at a time. This is where passion comes into play. If you weren’t passionate about what you’re doing it would be impossible to make it through those tough times. So that’s the first half of it, now for the money.
Let’s say you’re super passionate about walking dogs. How many days would you have to walk dogs to make a million dollars? Probably too many. So do you give up on your dog walking dreams or do you figure out how to truly monetize that passion? A young millionaire would choose the latter. In fact, Wag, an on-demand dog walking service was founded in 2014 and has raised over $300M to date. You better believe that founder is worth a pretty penny.
Regardless your passion, there are ways to monetize just about anything. All it takes is a little innovation!
They understand the true value of their time
Any and every young millionaire understands that time is a commodity. The most valuable commodity at that. It’s also the one common variable that everyone in the world shares. Those who are able to make the most of their time are the ones who are destined for success. Young millionaires learned how to properly manage their time and focused on creating opportunities that generate income without trading time for money.
Trading time for money means working a job for a paycheck that pays you hourly or a salary. Unless your hourly wage is through the roof, you won’t reach millionaire status working this way. You need to to create a dynamic income. Build assets and seek opportunities that have larger payouts after longer periods of sustained work. Again, this is why the majority of young millionaires are also entrepreneurs because they spent years building an asset that will pay them the rest of their lives. The lesson? Don’t spend your time, invest it.
They surround themselves with mentors
Young and successful people know how to surround themselves with a winning team. They understand that they don’t know all the answers and they accept that. They put their egos aside and seek mentorship to help fill in the gaps.
Mentors are there to guide you and hopefully help you avoid common pitfalls that lie ahead. They provide knowledge that you can’t get from reading a book or a news article. They can provide personal anecdotes and advice on specific decisions you need to make in the line of business. All mentors give their mentees a broad range of opportunities. It’s up to you to take advantage of all the value they can offer.
Making a million dollars in your youth is no easy task. It’s going to require hard (and smart) work. That said, it’s been done many times before. The six traits above are a few that all young millionaires have in common.
Max Palmer
I'm Max, and I love helping businesses we work with expand their businesses online. Growth potential is what we strive for! I help with press, productivity and overall business needs for business owners.