WHY MILLIONAIRES INSPIRE ME
Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a millionaire? Do you wonder what makes millionaires wealthy, and what keeps them wealthy? If you have wondered these things then you are no different from the rest of us. Millionaires intrigue us with their lifestyles and their accomplishments, but we tend to see them as a breed of unique individuals with something we will never attain in our lifetime. Millionaires are people too, people who began somewhere and not necessarily wealthy from birth. Most millionaires started somewhere with a dream, and began to work that dream becoming everyday the success that they were aiming for, through hard work and determination. The millionaires that intrigue me the most are the ones that began with a dream and developed that dream over time, as they built their business into the empires that they would become today. The business men and women that started with nothing but a dream, and have achieved that dream day by day and began to create a legacy.
I am most interested in the lives of those like Chris Gardner, the young man portrayed by Will Smith in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. Men who built their dreams from nothing but a dream, and through trials and struggles that would normally break anyone. Instead these challenges and obstacles spurred him onto success, making him the legend he is today. These men and women inspire us to continue on everyday and never give up wherever we are in life, because we see that it is possible to change the world despite our failures and struggles. These are the men and women I want to shape my life after. I want to show the world that no matter what second chance are possible, and hard work really does pay off. I do not necessarily want to be a millionaire, but I do want to know how to save more money everyday and learn from the wisdom of men and women who have helped to shape our world today through their dreams.
My biggest inspiration for this topic was a book I read in college, a book that helped to change my view on a lot of things regarding money management. The book talks about this very subject, and shares so much wisdom regarding the lifestyles of the wealthy, far more than I could ever dream to share with you myself. This book is called The Millionaire Next Door and was written by Thomas J Stanley PhD and William D Danko PhD. This book changed my perspective on so many things, and helped me to understand so many important concepts.
One of the most important things that I learned from this book is that the rich stay rich by not overspending on frivolous lifestyles, and by living below their means. There are plenty of wealthy who live like they are wealthy, but those who do usually begin to spend away their fortunes, and often end up with financial issues. How many celebrities and athletes have you seen this happen with? People who once had it all and spent like their wealth was never-ending and was an endless fountain of riches, only to discover themselves gambling away everything or giving away their fortune to some addiction that they cannot control. If I ever become wealthy and I ever achieve financial success, I hope and pray that I not only remember all of these things but that I continue to live my life, like I do now. I also hope that the most important thing to me will be to give back to others, and seek to change lives for the better which is far more priceless. Life is priceless and you only get one life, so you do not want to spend every moment focused on money. Money has its benefits, but money is a tool to be used to free up your time and to help you enjoy your life. Even more than that money is a tool to change the lives of others and a blessing not owed to anyone of us. Money is important but money is not everything and I believe the happiest millionaires understand these things and realize that although they have so much, that money is not their entire life. These millionaires do not let money control their lives, but rather they control their money and make it work for them.
If you are interested in reading the book that helped change my perspective on wealth and the millionaire mindset I am including a link below to this book on Amazon.