Ever wonder why some people seem to always have plenty of money and everything they touch turns to gold? Do you wonder why you’re living paycheck to paycheck and barely scraping by? Everyone wants to be a millionaire but only some people actually end up doing it. What separates the financial winners from the losers in life? Aside from lottery winners, it’s usually not based on luck. Here are 10 reasons that you’re always finding yourself broke instead of building up a million dollar nest egg for the future.
1. Not Knowing What You Want
Imagine going to a football game and watching the kickoff, only to realize that there are no end zones. What would the point of the game be if no one could score a touchdown? While that might seem ridiculous, that’s exactly the way that most people live their lives. Choosing exactly what you want and then making the decision that you’re going to get it no matter what is essential. If you want to earn a million dollars, make that your written goal and put a time period on it. Many successful people even set daily goals at the beginning of the day to help guide their actions throughout the rest of the day. The vast majority of successful people are goal setters, while unsuccessful people tend to just drift their way through life.
2. Acting in Fear With a Negative Attitude
Fear is one of the most destructive emotions that a person can engage in. It has so many negative side effects that ripple throughout your life. A very successful man, FDR once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” When you act in fear, your focus narrows, which may cut off your thoughts to a possible solution to your problem. By avoiding fear and instead staying positive in your thoughts, you’re more likely to find a successful possibility. Fear also leads to stress, which can lead to a number of health problems along the way. There’s very little chance that you’ll become a millionaire if you’re constantly calling in sick for work.
3. Only Daydreaming and Never Taking Action
Daydreaming is important to a certain extent. You’ve got to spend some time thinking about what you want to achieve and do if you’re ever going to set a goal. However, at some point, you’ve got to get off the couch and put your ideas into action. Unless of course you’re dreaming about buying another lottery ticket, because it probably won’t do you much good to take action on that idea. Stop sitting on the sidelines while someone else gets rich with your idea. Go out and do it.
4. Wasting Your Time
Unsuccessful people often sit around and waste their time. They look at social media for hours on end, watch TV and then complain when they don’t get the results they want. Successful people are typically engaged in activities more of the time than unsuccessful people. Walt Disney said, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
5. Using Only One Source of Income
Many people think that if they want to become a millionaire, they have to go out and find a job that will pay them a million dollars. In reality, most millionaires bring in money from multiple sources. Diversifying your income will help you overcome short term problems and increase your income overall.
6. Lacking Persistence
Albert Einstein once said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Persistence is perhaps the most essential quality when you want to be successful. Every successful person has come across adversity at some point in their journey. How they react to that adversity is what determines whether they go on to succeed. In the classic book “Think and Grow Rich,” Napoleon Hill found that the only common thread that he found in every successful man was persistence. They made a decision and then they let nothing stand in their way until they achieved their goal.
7. Spending More Than You Make
While it might seem obvious that you can’t spend more than you make, you’d be surprised how much of a foreign concept this is to some. Many people think that if they make more money, they can spend more money. At some point you’re going to have to spend less than you earn if you ever want to get ahead and earn a million dollars. George Clason wrote that “A part of all you earn is yours to keep.” The method of “paying yourself first” is perhaps the best advice ever given when it comes to building wealth.
8. Forgetting About Your Health
Successful people make a habit of taking care of their bodies and improving their health. It’s essential to eat healthy, exercise and get plenty of sleep. While you may be able to get by on junk food and caffeine for short periods of time, it’s not a sustainable model.
9. Associating With the Wrong Crowd
Remember when your parents were worried about you “hanging around the wrong crowd” when you were a kid? While it may have been annoying at the time, they were probably on to something. Associating with toxic people will hold you back more than anything else. Breaking free from negative influences is critical if you want to succeed.
10. Going it Alone
Trying to embark on the journey to becoming a millionaire on your own is a mistake. Most successful people have a mentor that they can rely on to help get them through the hard times. Find a mentor or life coach that can help build you up when you’re down and offer advice along the way. It’ll be much easier to succeed as part of a team instead of going it alone.
Regardless of your profession, you can become a millionaire. It’s going to take some serious effort and probably some tough decisions. In the end, the sacrifice will be well worth it.
