How to be a Millionaire

So, you want to be a millionaire.

It's a big goal, and for most people there are only four options to make it happen. You can inherit money, win money, save money or earn money.

In other words, you can inherit money from a rich relative, win the lottery, save for most of your life, or earn a million in your own business.

Inherit Money

This one is pretty straightforward. You either come from money or you don't. Movies are full of stories about people inheriting millions unexpectedly from long-lost relatives, but don't count on it. Even if you do have rich relatives, you could wait years and years before the millions become your own.

Bottom Line: It's not your money, so don't waste your life waiting for it.

Win the Lottery

The odds of winning the lottery in a single state lottery are about 18 million to one. Looking to win one of the multi-state Mega-Millions? Your odds of winning jump as high as 120 million to 1.

Your odds of being struck by lightening are about 2.65 million to one. You are 6 to 45 times more likely to be struck by lightening than to strike it rich on your next lottery ticket.

Bottom Line: Buying that lottery ticket is about as productive for your financial future as striking a match to that dollar and watching it burn.

Save Money

Finally, a guaranteed way to become a millionaire! If you discipline yourself to save and safely invest 10% of your income from the time you are 18, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that you will have accumulated at least a million dollars by the time you are ready to retire at 65.

That means you need to be sensible and practical your entire life. No splurge spending on your dream car, or vacations in paradise. After all you are saving for your future!

Saving for your future is a great habit. But most of us just don't have the self-discipline to be successful at it. Personally, I would rather earn money fast so I don't have to sacrifice to save. I want to spend money on things that make my current life rewarding. Patience has never been one of my strong suits. If you can make the save and invest method happen, I applaud you.

Bottom Line: You can become a millionaire by saving wisely. But life is not guaranteed. How do you know you will be around to benefit from all your scrimping and saving?

Start Your Own Business

As far as I'm concerned, this is really your own option. The first three methods are either out of your control, or take so long that it may not be worth the wait. Generating extra income through your own business gives you the best odds of success.

Owning your own business gives you control over your income. Your success is solely dependent on your efforts. You don't have to be dependent on your boss for your next raise, fate to give you the winning ticket, decades of time to earn interest and dividends, or death to take away a family member.

Owning your own business also gives you the opportunity to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on ineffective marketing programs, training materials, and overhead expenses. If you have dabbled in business ownership at all, you know that running a business can cost big bucks, too.

Bottom Line: The best guarantee of generating income in a business is finding a product or service that people want to buy. Forget all that feel good fluff about "finding something you love". Get rolling by starting something that is tried and true, find someone experienced to help you along, and be willing to work.

Becoming a millionaire is a big goal. But there are more millionaires now than at any other time in history. If millionaire status is your dream, there is absolutely no reason why you can't achieve it.

At the same time, positive mental attitude and luck does not create millionaires. You have to have a plan and work your plan in order to make your dream a reality. Most importantly, expect that you will make mistakes, have to backtrack, and sometimes even have to start over.

Start researching your options now. Your best bet is to find a business you can start part-time. Keeping your day job limits your financial risk. Give yourself time to start making sales and generating income. If you don't need the business income to survive, you can invest everything back into your business at the beginning. This will give your business extra capital to grow more quickly.

It all starts with your vision. If you want it bad enough, and are willing to do more than want and dream, your vision can become your reality. Earning extra income is not dependent on luck or being born into the right family. You need to be willing to do whatever it takes, and stop settling for less.

Set aside just one hour a day to work on your business. I challenge you to schedule one hour each day as your Millionaire Hour. Start with research, but as soon as possible, find a product or service you can market, and start selling! Quit dreaming about being a millionaire, and start doing.

Where will you be one year from today if you have invested 365 hours into starting and running your own business? In five years, you would have worked a total of 1825 hours in your business, simply by spending just one hour a day, or seven hours each week on your business rather than the next prime time TV show.

Or, you can keep dreaming and keep on buying next week's lottery ticket.....