The best way to build wealth is by learning from those already doing it.
The decisions they make. The habits they have. You need to get into their heads and absorb how they think, but in a totally non-creepy way.
I worked extremely hard this year on something I think you will like.
But I don’t want you to take my word for it.
I want to show it to you and let you decide for yourself.
I’ve compiled those habits into an actionable book to help you become 100x more confident with money. I teach you the habits. Then, I show exactly how to use them. It’s the only money book you’ll ever need.
Instead of just asking you to pre-order my book, why not give you a peek inside to see exactly what you’ll get?
Here’s the first chapter.
(In case you’re wondering, I cleared this with my publisher so they don’t sue my ass for copyright infringement).
Ready? Let’s go!
I was 30 years old when I was called into the Executive Director’s office.
My curiosity started spinning the moment I got the call. I’m a software engineer, so why does the Executive Director, whom we’ll call Ben, want to talk to me? Ben was successful, wore expensive suits, made lots of money, and had a big corner office. And I had never met with him before.
What’s going on?
“This can’t be good,” I told myself.
Worse, the meeting was on a Friday, and I had read somewhere that Fridays are common days to fire people. And I didn’t feel any better after I noticed who else was there.
It was human resources! Why else would HR be in the room if I wasn’t getting canned?
I took a seat and anxiously waited, fears racing through my mind. The instant Ben started talking, I braced myself.
Then, I relaxed.
“You’re not getting fired,” he said, sensing my concern. “In fact, it’s the opposite.”
The organization eliminated an entire management layer above me, including the Director of Information Technology, the Director of System Operations, and the Chief Information Officer.
In one day, boom! They were gone.
That whole morning, the entire information technology department operated without a leadership team and didn’t even know it.
“We want you to take over as the Information Technology Department Director,” Ben said. “You’ve done good work, and we’re confident you will excel in this position.”
Wow.
I had thought about this day a lot. The day I finally got to be the boss and make lots of money. I wanted it so bad that I could taste it. And here it was. It was finally happening.
But there was a problem with what was happening—one minor detail.
I had no leadership experience! I had never been the boss at any place I worked. I didn’t know how to lead. I was a software engineer that just turned 30. What did I know about leadership? And how could I possibly go from sitting quietly in my cubical writing computer code all day to the corner office and managing people nearly twice my age?
I wanted to say thanks, but no thanks. I was not ready to leap up two layers of management in a single day, especially without any leadership experience to lean on. I was going to make a fool out of myself, I knew it.
“Yes, let’s do it,” I replied.
Wait, what did I just say? “Are you crazy?” I mentally asked myself. Did I commit to getting in over my head, wearing suits to director’s meetings, managing multi-million dollar budgets, conducting performance reviews, and resolving employee conflicts…all without a shred of real-world experience?
Yep, that’s precisely what I did.
Little did I know getting an opportunity to jump multiple layers of management to a position of leadership that I wasn’t ready for was my first exposure to how powerful millionaire habits can be. This was a test.
I got a very rare opportunity to elevate my career. Even though I didn’t feel ready, deep down, I knew I had to say yes. “I’ll just figure it out as I go,” I told myself. And that’s precisely what I did. I made mistakes. But I learned on the fly.
That Friday was when I drastically changed my career’s entire course.
And that brings us to our first millionaire habit. Millionaires say yes.
Do millionaires say yes to everything? Well, no. But consider this: Often, it takes someone else’s perspective to show us what we are capable of.
My organization would never have asked me to lead the Information Technology Department if they didn’t think I could handle it.
That promotion boosted my salary for the rest of my career.
I went from earning $60,000 yearly to over $85,000 in one week. Back in 2012, this was respectable money for a 30-year-old.
Saying yes to this promotion put me on a different salary trajectory—a higher one.
Most cost-of-living raises are based on percentage. The higher your salary, the more money you will see in your paycheck.
For instance, a 5% raise on a $60,000 salary equals $3,000. After getting the raise, your new yearly salary is $63,000.
But, a 5% raise on an $85,000 salary is $4,250. This raise brings your yearly salary just shy of $90,000—a bigger raise due to the bigger salary.
Bigger salaries result in an exponential increase in earned income.
Consider the following table that illustrates these two salary trajectories over time. Notice how much faster the $85,000 salary grows compared to the $60,000.
There is a substantial difference in these two salaries over a short five-year period.
Initially, there was a $25,000 difference between the $60,000 and $85,000 salaries. But after just five years, the salary difference jumped another $10,000.
This is the magic of exponential growth and why my decision to say yes impacted my income significantly.
There are four reasons why saying yes more often will help you become a millionaire.
Reason 1: Saying yes helps you overcome your fears and insecurities, handle stress and rejection, and break out of your comfort zone so it doesn’t hold you back.
Reason 2: Saying yes makes you smarter. Everything you do – whether you succeed or fail, makes you smarter. New experiences help you learn about yourself and develop new interests. Experience = wisdom.
We don’t learn when we’re living in our comfort zone. We only learn when out there in the real world and challenging ourselves.
Reason 3: Saying yes will instantly expand your personal and professional network. I believe in the phrase, “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.” After my second job in the workforce, every other job came as a referral directly from someone inside my professional network (companies love it when employees refer candidates for job openings). The more you say yes, the more people you will meet.
Reason 4: Saying yes makes life more fun to live. Every time I said yes, I had a lot of fun. Sure, it wasn’t easy during the learning process, but every opportunity I said yes to taught me something valuable to take to the next opportunity.
I hope you enjoyed that snippet from my new book. If you liked what you read, there are 200 more pages of wisdom just like it.
I’m bringing you into the heads of millionaires in a totally above-board, 100% non-creepy way.
Pre-order your copy of Millionaire Habits and start the new year with the tools you need to make 2024 your most lucrative year yet.
See you in your inbox next week!
