I'm going to go on defense slightly for this commenter. I'm not going to call Americans unintelligent but they are very impulsive, greedy and more emotional then other countries. There is pressure by society to surrender to the masses and most people crumble under this pressure. How do you explain things like the pet rock! This guy made millions from a pet rock. He did exactly what the commenter is suggesting, that is capitalizing on the sheer stupidity or I would like to say sheer emotions of others.
The Pet Rock was introduced at a gift show, where the store, Neiman-Marcus ordered five hundred. After a news release showing Gary surrounded by boxes of his Pet Rocks, Newsweek did a story and within a few months was shipping ten thousand Pet Rocks every day. He even appeared on The Tonight Show twice.
By Christmas that year two and a half tons of rocks had been sold, three-fourths off all the newspapers in America had run Pet Rock stories. A million rocks sold for $3.95 apiece in just a few months making Gary Dahl an instant millionaire.
My business partner had an extremely high IQ and had a tough time conceptualizing why people were not as smart as he was and did not think the same as he did.
Of course there are overstatements because he is trying to get his point across. Obviously people will make $250,000 in their life time but like the other commenter "Chelle" says you don't want to be house poor trying to pay your mortgage.
To respond directly to the poster's comments about my short term goals of which included buying a vacuum cleaner, sleeping more, golf scores, and exercising. That was just a way of showing my reading audience that there are smaller goals nested in larger goals; and that the impact of the small goals and the decision-making that goes into completing them are no different then the larger ones. I have been through some REAL problems in life, including recently my mom getting hit by a car, leaving her unable to work....so more so then ever I realize how important money is.
In regards to my plan on being a millionaire I have what I call MSI - Multiple Streams of Income with the first and foremost being my job. Although it involves me in a cube (my own personal hell) my income is high which is what I'm using to fund the rest of my endeavors.
Of course I have my now profitable Auto Detailing / Truck Washing Business (4 Employees deep).
Real Estate Investing – In every down market someone is making money!
Ebay – One person’s garbage is another person’s treasure!
Aggressive Stock Investing – Very self explanatory
Internet Development business which I'm a partnered in that I can’t elaborate on just yet.
All of these activities puts my debt to income and income to spending ratios very high. My living conditions mimic that of someone who makes $40,000.00 so I have money to keep investing. I will eventually continue to buy and run additional companies and invest in more ventures until I can afford to break out of my cubicle prison without putting all of my endeavors at risk.
The commenter has a set of balls on him to quit his six figure job at Motorola and throw caution to the wind. Investing in yourself and your abilities is where it's at. I still haven’t worked up enough courage or cajones to just go in and kick the cube down.
Kudos to the commenter, for taking a strong stance and walking the talk. For those who were offended - life's too short. Just offend back with a comment of your own.
-MJL
I'm exhausted....Enough for now.
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Hello,
I stumbled across your blog and found myself reading your stuff for about an hour. You have a very interesting take on things. Most of what you say, I totally agree with. I too own my own business and am in the process of becoming a future millionaire, which is pretty much 99% guaranteed after my company releases our next product to the public. I find money very interesting and the game to reach millionaire/billionaire status is quite fun to play.
Your post from July 3, 2006 (Getting out of debt: part 1) was right on with what I also believe. Most people are in fact too lazy or too "busy" to do anything to get out of their current stressful situation. Most are stuck in a rut of the current dead end jobs or have screwed up their chances for success by popping out babies like candy. You may also realize that the main reason that people are not making a ton of money is because they are simply stupid. Honestly, the average IQ of us Americans are the bunt of jokes in other countries. Your average John or Jane Doe does not have the mind set or the knowledge to know that it's a bad idea to purchase a house that costs more than they will collectively earn in their entire life. They also can't equate that having 4 kids and a $30,000/year combined income doesn't mean that its a good idea to pop out a few more babies.
Also, because your typical American has an average intelligence of a 10 year old, it is nearly impossible for them to even know how to start a business let alone run them. The fact is, the reason why many of the rich people are rich is because they know how to capitalize on the sheer stupidity of others, which is the majority of the population.
Going back to your post on July 3, 2006 you list your top 10 worries. Some of which included a vaccume cleaner, sleeping more, golf scores, and exercising. I hope since that time you have had the chance to experience some REAL problems in life. I agree that money is everything and everything revolves around money. The thought of money is what gets me up in the morning and keeps me going during the day. Money along with determination is the reason why I quit my $100,000 a year engineering job at Motorola to start my own business, which is currently slowingly moving me closer towards going bankrupt and almost reaching $100,000 in debt. But that's what drives me. I love the experience and the thought of one day becoming as rich as Bill Gates or the 2 founders of Google. I can go on forever about this interesting topic, but I am curious as to what you are currently doing to reach your millionaire goals? So far, you've been the only one I've seen who actually knows what he is talking about and knows what is needed to get the most out of life...Money
9:53 PM
