Life and Money Outside the Box

Would you classify yourself as an independent thinker? Would you say that you are a visionary? Your thought-life has direct implications on your real life, so what do you think about? In researching the characteristics of millionaires, independent thinking and casting vision are common denominators.

Millionaires think differently about everything – not just money – because they know that conforming to social norms is a recipe for mediocrity. From how they spend their time to how they use their energy, these people identify what is important to them and then go about pursuing it.

We tend to sensationalize millionaires in our culture, believing they all have private jets, homes around the world, and heated toilet seats. In truth, the typical millionaire in our country observes what works and doesn’t work, then casts vision for his or her financial future.

What works? Saving and investing money, making wise purchases, living with a purpose for monthly income, and helping others. What doesn’t work? Trying to borrow your way to wealth, having a “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality, following the herd, and being self-centered.

We’ve all heard the phrase “think outside the box,” and most of us recognize that we’re at our creative best when we avoid groupthink. What if instead of just thinking outside the box, you lived outside the box? What if the way you approached all of your financial decisions took into account what you want to accomplish for your life – not just tomorrow, but also ten years from now?

Thinking independently requires we get away from the noise and clutter in our media. Having a vision means sitting down and honestly deciding what you want out of this life. Creativity and a positive attitude accompany those who know what they want. They are the ones who align their beliefs and values with their actions somewhere outside the box.

Make $1,000,000 by Accident

Is it really possible? Inc. Magazine points out a few stories such as that of Richard and Betty James. In 1934 (wasn’t there a recession going on?) Richard was working in a Navy tool yard and saw a spring coil fall off a table. His wife Betty found the word slinky, Swedish for sleek and sinuous, and the couple followed the idea with two years of testing.

Two years later they placed their invention in a store for $1 each and sold out within the first hour. To this date more than 250,000,000 Slinkys have been sold worldwide.

At only 16 years old, Catherine was able to convince two others to put up over $250,000 to start Yearbook.com. With over 20,000,000 unique visitors each month it has had growth spurts that have outpaced facebook and MySpace.

The point to be made here is that neither of these ideas made their inventors millions of dollars by accident. Each of them took a great idea and brought it to the marketplace to fill a need that was missing at the time.

Ideas really are a dime a dozen. Your ability to act on the ideas flowing through your mind is the only thing that will bring compensation. I’m convinced there are many ideas out there that will never be acted upon, and I heard some tremendous ones this past weekend at the 212 Connection Round Table.

What’s holding you back from significance? I have two suggestions to get moving on your ideas.

First, don’t get hung up in fear. Don’t choose a life of comfortable misery over one of significance. It is easy to look back on a long life and wish you had done more. It’s much harder to do something great and look back with abundance and thankfulness.

Second, don’t get hung up on the “how”. Instead, take the time to develop your “what”. Too often I see people putting their ideas on hold because of a lack of time, money or other resources. If your idea is a good one, nothing will stop you from greatness.

Is it possible to become a millionaire?

When the economy is failing, people are losing their jobs and their homes this sounds like an impossibility. The furthest that you need to look may just be to your neighbors home.

What kind of car are they driving? Do they have an elaborate home? If you think they are unassuming and don't have flashy things, they may very well be millionaires.

Dr. Thomas Stanley points out that most millionaires drive 2-year old or older paid for cars and owe very little on their mortgages.

I met with 2 couples last week that are almost millionaires on paper. Both families each had 2 cars. The value of cars in each family was less than $7,000 for both cars combined.

Maybe it's time to stop believing that these things happen once you become a millionaire and start doing these things with the intention of becoming a millionaire.