6 millionaire myths debunked

The Myth: Millionaires Are Smarter

People tend to put millionaires on a pedestal: They must be better or smarter than everyone else in order to achieve that goal. But that general statement simply isn’t true. Millionaires are ordinary people who have achieved extraordinary goals, but they make mistakes like everyone else. They may misspell words; they may even have learning disabilities. They’ve likely been in debt and had to dig themselves out. They’ve had ideas and businesses fail. Most of the ones I interviewed for my book have worked their way up the ladder, learning and stumbling along the way.

Rather than having lots of book smarts, what most millionaires have is a knack for setting goals for themselves and working toward them — without letting excuses get in their way. They, too, have to deal with unexpected expenses — plumbing leaks, health insurance increases, car trouble. They just keep moving forward despite the inevitable obstacles they have to overcome.

The Myth: Millionaires Are Just Luckier

Millionaires are the luckiest among us, right? They won the lottery, struck gold with their very first attempt at launching a business or haphazardly landed their dream jobs with massive salaries. Not so: Pure luck is not a factor in achieving success. Rather, truly successful people make their own luck. After all, a million-dollar idea is worth nothing without execution.

Bobby Casey, founder of asset protection firm Global Wealth Protection, told me the story of starting his first business building bikes for stores like Wal-Mart — a company that would eventually earn more than $6 million. “I went to at least 60 stores before I finally found one that said, ‘Okay, we’ll hire you. How much do you charge?’”

Casey had no money at the time — actually a “negative net worth,” as he describes it. “I racked up a bunch of credit card debt … driving around for several weeks at a time, only hearing no, no, no, no.” I asked him what he thinks might have happened if he stopped before he hit that 60th store. His response? “I wouldn’t have stopped if it took me 300 stores.”

Casey would say it was hard work, not luck, that got him over the million-dollar threshold. After getting an “in” at that first store, he worked 12-hour shifts — sometimes several in a row, at various stores, without stopping to sleep in between — to assemble thousands of bicycles for the Christmas season. Assembling bikes for Walmart turned into assembling grills and lawn equipment at Home Depot and Lowe’s and pool tables and other sporting goods equipment for Dick’s Sporting Goods and other chain stores. After 12 years, Casey sold his assembly and installation company in 2008.

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