2008: Do You Want to Be a (Penta) Millionaire?

In order to be counted among the richest 1% of Americans you must be a pentamillionaire and have a net worth over $5 million. Today, there are more than 930,000 pentamillionaires. Anne Kadet of SmartMoney.com wrote a very interesting article about what it takes to become rich. As you read the excerpts below, note the striking similarities between becoming a pentamillionaire and a Heavy Hitter (a truly great salesperson).

• The people who amassed their fortunes are, first and foremost, entrepreneurs — risk takers for whom wealth is a byproduct of pursuing their passion. Only 10% of pentamillionaires inherited their wealth. One might think that good fortune would play a role, but even luck is largely a matter of one's own making. Psychologist Richard Wiseman has found that people who describe themselves as lucky share common habits that account for their success: They're friendly and fond of new experiences, traits that put them on a collision course with new opportunities. In addition, "lucky" folks simply have higher expectations of success — they're too pigheadedly optimistic to heed the long odds and call it quits.                          

• Not to say that getting rich is simply a matter of having a swell attitude. The path to riches usually involves the kind of risk that would make most people feel a little queasy. Harrison Group head Jim Taylor recently persuaded more than 3,000 pentamillionaires to discuss their path to success. Perhaps not surprisingly, none of them had a cushy union job down at the DMV.

• Surprisingly, today's very rich say that money itself wasn't much of a motivator. Once you've got food in your belly and a big-screen TV, the mere prospect of more Benjamins isn't enough to get you leaping out of bed at 5 a.m. Rather, rich folks often make their fortunes after they make up their minds to solve a problem or do something better than it's been done before.

• Getting rich also requires a certain amount of stubbornness and clarity of purpose. Being rich means freedom: to spend your time as you please, to pursue your real interests and to take a chance without courting utter ruin. Paradoxically, the road to riches often means acting as if you already have that freedom.

Comments

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