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There is no shortage of billionaires today. In 1985, there were
fewer
than 20 of them. Today, there are more than 1,800. As many as 536
of them
are American. That's nothing to sneeze at.
Nor is their collective net worth of around $2.5 trillion.
At the moment, the U.S. has the world's largest and most-profitable
economy. But, India and China are catching
up. Their economies are
growing fast. And they are not wasting
trillions of dollars on foreign wars.
And this can be seen in the Forbes list of Indian billionaires, where the top
100 richest in the country, have a combined
net worth of US$345 billion.
One of the best ways you can create and maintain wealth is by following the
lead
of people who've already done so.
About 33% of the very rich got their money through inheritance. Take the
Waltons (founders of
Wal-Mart), for instance. The rest - two out of three
- created their wealth through business. About half of those
mega-entrepreneurs started with family money, and the other
half
started from
scratch.
These are the people - like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Sergey Brin,
and Larry Page - who earned the wealth they have. These are the
people
I'd listen to if I wanted
advice on how to succeed
today.
I don't know any of these billionaire entrepreneurs (BEs) personally, but
I do know lots of multi-millionaires - entrepreneurs, authors,
professionals,
and even a few successful
artists. And in my experience, they share the
following traits with billionaires:
Most, but not all, have college
degrees.
The great majority of BEs - about 90% - have college degrees. But it's not
necessary for success. Among the world's super-rich today, Bill
Gates,
the late Steve
Jobs,
and Fred DeLuca (co-founder of the Subway franchise)
didn't graduate from college. And David
Murdock (Dole Foods) and Richard Desmond (British publishing magnate) never
finished high school. That same percentage (90%) feels roughly true in terms
of the most successful people
I know. Those who lacked college educations
were plenty smart and had
the most important
skills:
thinking, writing, and speaking.
BEs work harder and longer than the people who work for them.
Most say they work 50-55 hours per week. Canadian communication mogul
Ted Rogers worked 12 hours
per day. And some, like Bill Gates (when he
worked at Microsoft) and
Jeff Skoll (dot-com legend and eBay's first
president) took no vacations for years while their businesses
were growing.
These days, I probably work about 60 hours per week, but when I
was
in my "growth" phase, I was working 80-plus hours and
not taking vacations.
Every successful person I know works long and works hard. But, I do know
a few people who seem to be able to have some balance in
their lives.
Bill Bonner(link to conference copy page), for example, has
always kept
his weekends free for building stone walls or repairing roofs on
his
various global mansions. But he works 16 hours per day Monday
through
Friday.
BEs are constantly looking for profit opportunities.
When they hear about an economic or business development, they don't
hear it as some bit of abstract news about someone else. Instead,
they
think, "How could I profit from that?"
In this respect, you'd have to say BEs are self-centered. Like all super-successful people, they are constantly relating the facts of their lives back to their
personal careers. I can't
get through a magazine, any magazine - even
one about architecture or science - without having these sorts of
personal
profit questions pop into
my mind.
BEs don't dwell on mistakes.
They view problems as learning opportunities. "I don't remember any
mistakes," late pharmaceutical billionaire James Sorenson
told Forbes,
"only opportunities to overcome problems." I know some
successful people
who DO dwell on mistakes - mistakes made by other people.
Usually,
people who work for them.
But, these same people are quick to forgive themselves.
I used to beat myself up over mistakes, but I eventually got over them.
I realized it's not about having a perfect batting average...
it's about how
many times you bounce back.
BEs think neither completely positively
nor negatively, but strategically.
Instead of thinking, "That's impossible," or "I can do anything," they think,
"Is that possible?" and "If it is, how could I do
it?" This is a big point.
Most people, when they hear a new idea, think immediately about
all the
problems it might cause, or how difficult it might be to
implement, or what obstacles one might have to overcome. When I see smart
businesspeople
doing this, I think to myself, "These people will never get
beyond a certain
point. They are limited by
these instinctively
negative mindsets."
When someone suggests an idea to me, I try to shut down the critical part
of my mind and listen to the potential of the idea. If my
positive mind
likes the potential, then I allow the critical part of my brain
to
raise questions
and concerns. I then use both sides of my brain to come up
with answers and solutions.
BEs don't believe in luck.
In a recent Forbes poll of the 400 richest people in the world, none said
they had become wealthy entirely by luck. Some said they
considered
luck to be a minor factor. Most, like Oprah Winfrey, consider
luck an
outsider's way of describing someone who works hard and seizes
opportunity. "Luck," Winfrey says, "is preparation meeting a
moment of opportunity."
BEs are not driven primarily by money.
"Studies show the desire for financial success is no stronger among
entrepreneurs than among those not starting a company," says
entrepreneur
expert Kelly Shaver.
Wharton School management professor Raphael
Amit agrees: "No one is saying they don't like their wealth.
What matters
more is the innovation, the intense
commitment they have to an idea,
and the difference it can make. Money is a by-product." I
find this to be
100% true.
BEs are motivated primarily by challenge.
They want to prove something - all kinds of things.
They want to prove they are smart and their ideas are
good and
their critics are wrong. They want to show the world there is a
place
for better products and better services and things done the way
they
believe they should be done. These are their primary
motivators. But, don't fool yourself. The BE wants to get paid.
He wants
every dollar he's entitled to. If you try to deny him that money,
you will
lose him.
BEs make friends. Business is never about money.
Business is about people. It's about who you know and who you trust.
Billionaires work within their circles to get things done.
BEs know they can't do anything alone.
Instead, they create important partnerships, and work with these
partners to collaborate on great projects. Most importantly, they
remember to give credit where it's due. If you want to survive
and
prosper in the 21st century, emulate the habits of the world's
richest people.
Educate yourself about money. Make conservative investments.
And seize opportunities to start and/or invest in entrepreneurial
businesses.
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By Mark Ford
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