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"Others can
stop you temporarily, but only you can do it permanently."
Author Unknown
Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. recently published a
book titled "The Millionaire Mind"
published in 2000. This book was a follow-up to his best selling book "The
Millionaire Next Door." In the The Millionaire Mind Dr. Stanley
conducted an extensive survey of over 1,000 "millionaires" in the United States
in an effort to determine the common attributes that occurred between the
people. The results are very interesting and one should read the book for
further knowledge.
Below I have excerpted a few key elements from
The Millionaire Mind that may help one to see what is necessary to be a
millionaire. You may find the information very interesting.
Basic Information:
 | All were first generation, seasoned business
owners, executives or professionals |
| Some were credit dependent earlier in their
careers, but eventually "saw the light" |
| Most people in the book became economic
successes in one generation, i.e. they came from economic "ground zero" |
| Out of 1001 surveys completed, 733 were
millionaires |
| Most lived in old, well established,
upper-middle-class neighborhoods in homes built in the 1940's and 1950's (no
flashy new subdivisions) |
| They do not follow the crowd |
| Most saw opportunities that others ignored |
Demographic Overview of Self Made
Millionaire:
| 54 years old |
| Married to same woman for 28 years |
| On average have 3 children |
| 92% are married, 95% have children |
| On average have net worth of $9.2 million |
| Median income of $436,000 (only 20% have
income of $1+ million) |
| Typically never spent more than $41,000 for a
car, or $4,500 for engagement ring |
| 25% have never spent more than $340,000 for a
home |
| Only 2% inherited all or part of house or
property |
| 8% inherited 50% or more of net worth |
| 61% have never received any inheritance,
financial gifts or income from an estate or trust |
| Found all over the country (US) |
| Small outstanding home mortgages |
| 32% are business owners |
| 16% are senior corporate executives |
| 10% are attorneys |
| 3% are physicians |
| Business owners are richest of the group |
| 50% of wives do not work out of the home
(those employed are business owners) |
| 90% are college graduates, 52% have advanced
degrees |
Millionaires Mind:
| Financially independent, yet tend to live a
comfortable not extravagant lifestyle |
| Have fine homes but little or no debt |
| Tend to buy homes when others are selling |
| Self-made affluent |
| Few found it necessary to get out of bed at
3-4 am each work day to accumulate wealth |
| Play golf or tennis on regular basis |
| Not into "do-it-yourself" tasks (those that
do tend to have significantly less wealth than the average of the group) |
| Became rich without compromising their
integrity |
| Not workaholics |
| Spend lot of time socializing |
| Focus energy to maximize the return on effort |
| Spend time planning investments and often
consult tax advisors |
| Positive correlation between number of
lifestyle activities and net worth |
Success Factors:
Top 5 factors most often mentioned by millionaires as being very important in
explaining their economic success
| Integrity: being honest with all people |
| Discipline: applying self control |
| Social skills: getting along with
people |
| A supportive spouse |
| Hard work: more than most people |
"Luck" ranked number 27 or
30 success factors
No one have anything nice to
say about gambling
How They Became Millionaires In 1
Generation:
| Most saw economic opportunity that others
just ignored and have willingness to take financial risk, given the promise of
a good return. |
| Have strong leadership qualities |
| They provide a product or service that has
strong demand but few suppliers |
| They do not follow the crowd |
Education/Intelligence:
| In general they were average in intelligence
and grades in school |
| Highest GPA (grade point average) 3.12 (physician) |
| Lowest GPA 2.76 (business owner) |
| Average GPA 2.92 |
| SAT (standardized test) were similar, ranging
from 1090 to 1267 with an average of 1190 |
Courage and Wealth:
| Those with millionaire's mind look at being
self-employed |
| It is risky not to be self-employed |
| Being self-employed you are in control of
your own destiny, profits are yours, there is no ceiling on income |
| Think of success, not failure |
| Take risk, but study probable outcomes |
| Reduce or eliminate fear and worry by
believing in themselves and hard work |
| Prepare and plan to succeed |
| Common sense is important |
Miscellaneous Characteristics:
| 70% have shoes resoled and repaired (takes
less time than buying new ones) |
| 48% have furniture reupholstered or
refinished |
| 71% develop a shopping list before going
grocery shopping |
| 50% buy household supplies at warehouse store
(e.g. Sam's, Costco) |
| Firmly believe that time is money |
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