By Reagan Mitchell, CFP®& MD of WealthyMe
There is a misconception that millionaires are narcissistic and only concerned with accumulating money for themselves at the cost of everyone and everything else. While such people do exist, there are plenty of wealthy people who dedicate their lives and resources to solving some of the biggest problems in the world.
Consider the invention of cars, airplanes, trains, and ships – these inventions were the result of a commuting problem humanity was facing. A few people became passionate about solving this problem and in the process, they became millionaires.
Make me a millionaire
Being a millionaire is generally measured on a person’s net worth and net worth is an accounting formula that subtracts liabilities from your assets. Most millionaires consider themselves to be dollar millionaires. That said, it doesn’t disqualify you from being a millionaire in local currency.
In my opinion, becoming a millionaire requires immense diligence in serving the needs of humanity coupled with a laser focus on the specific problem you are solving. You can become a millionaire in the following 5 broad categories.
- Work hard to become a corporate executive in a listed or private company. Corporate executives earn big salaries and bonuses that help them accelerate their millionaire status.
- Become a self-employed professional like a cardiovascular specialist or a high-flying legal professional.
- Become an entrepreneur and build problem-solving businesses.
- Check your natural ability and if you’ve got sports or entertainment talent, hone it every single day and go into those industries. Million-rand endorsements are not unheard of, so form a big chunk of the earnings.
- To take it up a notch and earn billionaire status, become an investor who invests in listed companies and other ventures. That is how Warren Buffet became a billionaire.
There are no get-rich-quick solutions to becoming a millionaire. Those are the ones to be most wary of. We live in a society of the “now”, we want everything to happen instantly and to a large degree this fuels get-rich-quick schemes which end up causing more damage than anything else.