After I Read 40 Books on Money - Here's What Will Make You Rich
So you want to become a millionaire and everyone is
telling you to read books but hardly anyone's got time for that. Luckily over
my many years in business, I've read hundreds of books, but there are 40 money
making books that have really stuck with me. So in this video, I'm gonna
condense all of these books into the core lessons that will actually make you
rich.
And no, I'm not just saying this, I have experienced
doing it. I've gone from absolute zero to making tens of millions and I didn't
make my money on YouTube like most people on here, I did it running real
businesses. So I promise that the things I'm gonna share with you today will
take you from $0 to $100,000, 100,000 to a million, and a million to $10
million if you apply them correctly.
Level one, going from zero to $100,000. First, you need
to master your mind. I didn't come from a wealthy background and during my
youth I vividly remember people saying the phrase, money is the root of all
evil. "Secrets of The Millionaire Mind" explains how these phrases
program us to believe that rich people are the devil.
It took me a long time to rid myself of a negative
feeling in my stomach when I thought about making money. If I'd have read this
book sooner, it would have helped me realize this issue earlier. Once I got
over this hurdle I had to ask myself, what is money actually for? For me the
answer was freedom. "The Psychology of Money" puts it a little
differently and says it's all about control.
But I suppose the goal is the same, to be able to do
whatever you want whenever you want. It also touches on how there's a clear
difference between the rich and the wealthy. Wealth is what you don't see. The
car is not purchased, diamonds not bought, renovations postponed, clothes for
gone and first class upgrades declined.
Unfortunately, many people don't even believe that they
can become wealthy. I remember my schoolfriend saying things like, "I hope
I can get an okay job when I graduate." They weren't even hoping for a
good one. "The Magic of Thinking Big" explains that people are
setting their finish line too soon and therefore never have a shot at being
successful.
While I don't believe that thinking big alone will make
you successful, it's certainly the first step. I always struggled in school and
felt like a failure. Interestingly, when I left and started working in the real
world, I found that I kept winning. This was probably because I chose jobs I
had an interest in rather than learning things I didn't care about at school.
"The Winner Effect" talks about actual studies
to back up this phenomenon. The book discusses how positive correlation has
been found between successful stock market traders and their testosterone
levels. Furthermore winning increases the testosterone receptors in your brain
which causes you to win more in the future.
That's why it's important to set those achievable goals
and get those little wins every day. I believe that my struggles in school and
my strong drive for success had a positive impact on my life. They left me with
no other option but to push forward. "Think and Grow Rich" tells a
story about a great commander.
Despite being outnumbered by a far superior enemy, he
burned his army's own ships leaving them with no escape plan. This forced his
soldiers to fight with everything they had resulting in a miraculous victory
against all the odds. It just shows there's a big difference between wanting to
succeed and needing to.
Being comfortable is just as harmful as having an escape
plan. During a chat with Andrew Tate, he referred to this as one of the
matrix's tools. "Unscripted" also presents this idea. The author
argues that society aims to transform us into model citizens, which stands for
mediocre, obedient, dependent, entertained and lifeless.
Avoiding this fate depends on how well you can manage
stress. "The Essence of Success" gives us a helpful perspective on
this. The book mentions that all the water that forms a fog that's 100 feet
deep and seven city blocks wide can fit into a small glass. Whenever I feel
stressed I like to imagine drinking this water and using it as fuel.
Now you can develop great habits. Stress can also come
from factors outside our control. For this reason, I've made a conscious effort
throughout my life to only focus on things that I can directly impact.
"Atomic Habits" reveals that many people fixate on the end goal,
which they have no control over rather than a process of achieving it which is
completely in their hands.
I found the author's habit stacking technique to be
particularly helpful for forming new habits. It involves pairing a new habit
with an existing one so both are completed at the same time. However, most
people just keep putting things off and never form good habits. I know far too
many people just go through the motions without any direction and before they
know it, time has run out.
"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People"
stresses the importance of always knowing where you are going and thinking
about how you want to be remembered. I know this provides me with extra
motivation but this is only one part of the equation. The 12 week year suggests
treating a year as 12 weeks to create a sense of urgency.
This really hit home for me as I know I work best under
pressure. Although short-term pain is often necessary for long-term gain, it
can be difficult to remember this when faced with challenges. "The Art of
Getting Things Done" emphasizes the importance of not relying on your
brain to remember all your tasks.
Instead, capture them on a phone or a notepad. This way
you can organize your task without getting them confused and you can also be
selective with how you spend your time. "Essentialism" reminds us
that for every task we say yes to, we have to say no to many others. Therefore,
it's important to value yes and not be afraid to say no.
After adopting these habits you should start building
high value skills. I've previously said that I don't like the advice, follow
your passion. However, "So Good They Can't Ignore You" takes it one
step further. The author interviewed many people who loved their jobs. He found
that most of them didn't initially have a passion for their work.
Rather, as they improved their love for their work grew.
So what skills should you start building if you aren't necessarily following
your passion? "The Unfair Advantage" suggests that to succeed in an
unfair world, you need to play to your natural strengths. Find what you are
better at than most people and lean into it.
However, it's no longer enough to just possess high value
skills. Artificial intelligence is rapidly replacing many jobs. I'm using it
more and more in my various businesses to complete simple tasks. That's why the
idea is shared in "Mastery" are more important than ever. My main
takeaway was that you need to develop a unique stack of skills that is nearly
impossible to replicate.
"Steal Like An Artist" echoes this point when
it suggests to copy from multiple inspirations until you have a mix that is
truly original. Having this unique skill stack will give you the ability to
earn a high income. However, that still won't mean you can build wealth without
understanding the basics of personal finance.
When I was younger, I had a mentor named Dave who taught
me about how the rich managed their money. The biggest lesson I learned which
is to also shared in "Rich Dad Poor Dad" is that everything we buy is
either an asset or a liability. To figure out which one it is, we simply have
to ask ourselves, is it putting money in our pocket or taking it away? Of
course, if you want to be wealthy the aim should be to buy as many assets as
possible, but lots of people don't see the value of investing.
Let me ask you this. Would you rather have $3 million now
or a penny that doubles every day for 31 days? The correct answer is the penny
because it actually turns into 10.7 million. "The Compound Effect"
uses this analogy to demonstrate the power of investing and gaining compound
interest. Once most people get their head around this, they get very excited
but end up jumping into the markets without really understanding anything.
That's what happened in the pandemic. Everyone thought
they knew what they were doing but it was just a massive bubble waiting to
burst. That's why I've always followed the principles laid out in "The
Little Book of Common Sense Investing." It states that trying to beat the
market is a losing game.
Instead, you should own the entire market. You can do
this by investing in something like the S&P 500 or a broad market index
fund. Interestingly, over a 35 year period, only 1% of mutual funds could beat
the market by 2%. This means that index funds are a clear choice for the
average investor. Although, as I do find them pretty boring, I also like to
invest in more interesting stocks with a smaller part of my money.
Whenever I do this, I keep in mind that the market is
irrational. As "The Intelligent Investor" puts it, you should imagine
a person come into your door every day called Mr. Market. One day he may offer
you $2,000 for your stock and the next only 500. Even though the company may be
doing better than ever, this is because the price of the stock is based on
demand and not the actual real world value.
I only buy stocks if I'm prepared to ignore what Mr.
Market says for a long time. Another phrase I live by is, if you love the
store, chances are you'll love the stock. Which will shared in, "One Up On
Wall Street." This means if you've got a lot of experience of a company or
product, you might actually have a bigger advantage than the pros when it comes
to investing.
Before we get to the next level I have to make one thing
clear. Reading books on investing can provide you with theoretical knowledge,
but to truly succeed in investing and build wealth, you need to put that
knowledge into practice. So if you are going to invest, you need to make sure
that you are using a tool that provides you with all the necessary information
to make informed decisions.
This is where today's sponsor, Moomoo comes in. If you
are interested in building wealth then you're really gonna want to listen to
this. It's a powerful investing platform founded in Silicon Valley with over 20
million users worldwide. You can trade stocks straight from your laptop, iPad,
or smartphone whether in the United States, Australia or Singapore.
You also don't have to worry about commission fees and
account minimums. I personally really like the free tool they offer which
allows you to see what famous institutions are investing in and what sectors
are performing best. As a beginner, you can also practice your trading ideas
with a demo account before entering the market.
If you sign up today using the link in the description,
you can receive up to 15 free stocks each worth between 3 and $2,000. That's an
amazing deal. These three stocks can help you start building your investment
portfolio right away. Level two, 100,000 to $1 million. Now that you fixed all
your internal beliefs to make the next leap, you'll need to know how to
generate more value than you can from just selling your time.
We're taught to go to school, get good grades and then
get a high paying job. However, when you do this, your earning inability is
capped. "Cash Flow Quadrant" outlines four distinct ways to earn
money. E for employee, S for self-employed, B for business owner and I for
investor. Business owners and investors have the advantage of using other
people's time and money to build their wealth.
That's why it's crucial to move to the right side of the
quadrant if you want to become rich. But what does it really mean to be rich?
Well, "The 4-Hour Work Week" explains this best when it says that
relative income trump's absolute income. To understand his statement, let me
ask you a question.
An investment banker earns 500,000 per year working 80
hours a week. On the other hand, an e-commerce entrepreneur earns 40,000 per
year but only works four hours per week, who is richer? If we look solely at
absolute income, then the banker is clearly making more money. However, if we
consider the time worked, the banker earns $120 per hour whereas the
entrepreneur earns $200 per hour.
To take it one step further, the entrepreneur can
actually already live the retired life that the banker dreams of as he can
operate from anywhere in the world. I'll take the entrepreneur route any day of
the week. "Zero To One" states that the first step to starting a
business is betting on a contrarian truth.
This is the basis for most successful businesses. For
example, Netflix had to bet on the fact that people wanted a binge watch TV
shows at home, and Airbnb had to believe that people would be willing to stay
in a strangers house. For many people the biggest hurdle is coming up with an
idea. However, this is often easier than you might think.
"Disrupt You" outlines an effective method
which is to write down three things that annoy you every day and think about
how they could be done better. By doing this, you'll have 90 ideas to consider
each month. When you have an idea, don't be afraid to share it with people that
can help you.
People tend to be too protective of their plans but the
truth is, that an idea alone is usually not that great. "The Lean
Startup" emphasizes the importance of execution and the use of the build,
measure, learn, feedback loop. This approach ensures that you don't create
something nobody wants, and allows you to pivot and adapt your idea as you go.
There was an interesting study conducted on 108 new
businesses across 30 industries. Out of these, 92 businesses chose to enter red
oceans while 16 adopted a "Blue Ocean strategy." A blue ocean refers
to a market has little to no competition, while a red ocean is named so because
of the fierce competitions between competitors.
The study found that 39% of profits came from businesses
in competitive markets, while 61% of profits came from those that used the blue
ocean strategy. Furthermore, these businesses went on to dominate their
industries for 10 to 15 years after launch. A good strategy for creating your
own blue ocean is to become "Oversubscribed.
" Consider Ferrari's. Many people want them but not
everyone can have one. Yet, the people that run Ferrari aren't losing sleep
over this as they know that this scarcity keeps demand high and the cars highly
desired. Every oversubscribed product has people who are willing to buy it but
can't get their hands on it.
When I'm driving up demand for my products, I always
remember the core lesson from "Breakthrough Advertising." This book
is actually the most expensive book in the video. It states that you can't
manufacture desires, instead your job is to create a product that fulfills the
already existing desires.
Level three, $1 million to $10 million plus. Elon Musk
wouldn't be nearly as successful as he is today if he didn't have the ability
to inspire others to make his visions a reality. "Influence: The
Psychology of Persuasion" is one of the best books on this topic. I've
been using this principle in my model shops for years as my employees are
encouraged to help customers with quick repairs for free.
I know that if we do this, the person is far more likely
to come back in the future and make a much larger purchase. You can use this
with anything. Just focus on giving value and eventually, it'll come back to
you. Dealing with people comes with a lot of headaches. You can't compromise on
your vision but you also need to make sure that people don't resent you.
"Never Split The Difference" says you can do
this by using something called tactical empathy. The key is to empathize with
someone's situation to get them to empathize with yours. People want to be
heard and as mentioned in "How To Win Friends and Influence People"
they don't wanna be told they're wrong.
The reality is all humans are emotion led creatures. They
tend to make their decisions with this in mind and then justify their actions
with logic. "Pitch Anything" explains this as having three different
brains. The croc brain which developed when we were mere animals, the mid-brain
and the neocortex where we make all of our decisions.
Most people try to appeal to the neocortex when they want
to sell something, but first you need to break through the croc brain. You can
do this by using emotion and making what you're asking for as simple as
possible. Leadership is something I've spent a lot of time learning about
because the better you are at it the more money you can make.
"Start With Why" shares a useful tool called
the Golden Circle. Where why is it the center, how is in the middle ring and
what is in the outer ring. Bad leaders start from the outside and rarely get to
the center. This is like my teachers at school who told me to read because
that's what I needed to do but never inspired me to take action.
On the other hand, my mentors told me that if I wanted to
become wealthy and have freedom, I should read specific books and they gave me
recommendations to achieve my goals. After that, I really saw the value in
books. The key here is that great leaders inspire you to take action, they
don't tell you to.
It may surprise you but all leaders are pretty calculated
people deep down. Reading "The 48 Laws of Power" opened my eyes to
this even more. One of my favorite laws was number 11, learn to keep people
dependent on you. This is so true as an employee and a leader, if you can be
replaced by someone you can never truly have power.
However, if your future business is dependent on
irreplaceable people, it will eventually collapse. The reason why 80% of new
businesses fail is that the person running it does not understand how to build
systems and processes. "The Emyth" outlines how most people who start
businesses are not entrepreneurs, but rather just good at a certain skill.
For example, someone who makes good cakes may not
necessarily be able to run a successful bakery. These kinds of entrepreneurs
often over invest in their businesses hoping that one day they will turn a
profit. However, what often happens is the income slows down while expenses
remain high leading to the closure of the business and no profits.
That's why adopting the strategy described in the book,
"Profit First" is crucial. The book proposes that entrepreneurs
should run their business with the calculation, sales minus profit equals
expenses, to ensure that they're always profitable. I believe one of the
primary reasons I've succeeded in business for so long is by specializing in
one specific niche, radio controlled models.
Although it may seem small, I know I could be the best in
my field. "Good To Great" describes this as having a hedgehog
mentality. Each day the fox attempts new tactics to catch the hedgehog, but
every time the hedgehog rolls into a ball, using this tried and tested strategy
to avoid being eaten.
Being extremely good in one area makes you rich in the
long run. Up until this point, I have a discussed world events as they relate
to the bigger picture. This is because I believe that you need not worry about
them until you have the power to influence them. If you have a considerable
amount of wealth, it may be worth reading "The Fourth Turning" which
suggests that every century consists of around 4, 25 year historical blocks
called the high, awakening, unraveling and crisis.
Another good one is "The Change in World Order"
which discusses the idea that every major superpower has its time and
eventually declines. These can provide a perspective on how events and trends
may impact the economy and society which can be useful for making informed
decisions about investments and business ventures, but aren't necessarily
something to worry about if you haven't made at least 10 million, in my
opinion.
0 comments:
Post a Comment