7 Real Steps To Become A Millionaire By 25
“What steps should I take right now to prepare myself to be financially successful, or how do I start now if possible?”
That’s one of the most common questions I hear from teens in the range of 13–18 — the period before college. You may have asked a parent or mentor this previously, only to receive the curt reply of “focus on school now, that will come later.”
However, there are real steps that you can take to become financially successful now, and by starting at a young age, you can really make a positive impact on your future. Here are five actionable steps that you can take now to become financially successful, and a millionaire by age 25.
Develop Habits That Will Carry You To Success
This is perhaps the most important thing that you can do in your life right now — Form habits that allow you to become the millionaire that you want to be. When studying extremely successful people, from small business owners to multi-billionaires, must possess the same habits and act in a certain pattern. The things that they do, the small mannerisms that they embody are the mechanisms that lead them to their success, and if you can replicate this in your life, you will have the same success.
Here are a few habits that you can work on developing now, which will help you later (and now):
- Get your morning routine down. Successful people have a great morning routine, and so should you. Wake up early, and have a set schedule that you follow every day. The early bird really does get the worm, and it’s no coincidence that almost every Fortune 500 CEO wakes up before 5 a.m.
- Learn the simple fact: “You can do things the right way, or you can do things the wrong way.” And doing things the wrong way always leads to failure. Make this into a habit, where you try your absolute hardest and every single thing that you do. This includes business to school to your social life.
- Create the habit of inquisitiveness. Train yourself to want to learn, and to ask questions. Tai Lopez says it best, “knaaawledge”. It may sound funny but it is a simple, time-proven fact that people who know more, do better. If you are presenting prepared, it will 100% of the time go better than if you were not prepared. As an entrepreneur, knowledge makes you money. The more you know, the more ideas that you have to work from and build a profitable is business/entity.
If you want to learn more about developing habits, read my blog post detailing how you can break bad habits and turn them into good ones. Also, the quick Google search will bring up hundreds of habits that successful people have. Incorporate these into your life now and you will reap the rewards later.
Learn Everything You Can
Learn to sell yourself, and things. Learn about the economy, finance and banking systems. Study influential people. Personally, I listen to audiobooks of successful people such as the book Titan: The Life Of John D. Rockafeller, Sr.
Not only are biographies entertaining, they teach you principles and show you how it’s that successful people have. It is interesting; after you read a few biographies you will notice the crazy amount of similarities between the two people, Even John Rockefeller and Steve Jobs, two people from different generations, have extreme similarities.
Read/listen to books, and listen to podcast and interviews with successful people. In the future, you will find yourself using the skills that you have built up over the years. I would say confidently, that knowledge is your most important asset, especially at this point in your life, where you have the time and drive to build it up.
Write Down Everything
If you are asking the question of “how do I become successful”, you probably have a lot of ideas of your own popping up in your mind. Great business ideas, inventions, problems to solve. I urge you, write them all down — They could end up being the most valuable thing that you possess. You never know, it could be the next multibillion-dollar idea.
I personally have a list of about 10,000 words, consisting mainly of business ideas that I think could make money in the future. Recently, when I was looking to start up a new business, I simply scroll through the list and chose my favorite one.
On the topic of writing, you should also take notes and make lists. Take notes on feedback that people have for you, such as when you ask somebody a question about your business and they give you a response. This too could prove to be invaluable in the future.
Listing is having that you need to develop. It helps you get s*** done. Make a checklist of what you want to do, and then hold yourself accountable for doing them. you will be extremely surprised and how your productivity is boosted.
Take Big Risks Now
Most of you reading this are still living in your parents home, or in a dorm room that your parents (or a loan) are paying for.
You have limited expenses, and are quite possibly in the best financial state of your life (learn more here).
Because you have limited to no dependents, you can afford to lose money. Invest in riskier investments and more volatile stocks. Try to build a company. Sure you may lose money, and many of you will but also many of you will see success and, the bigger the risk the bigger the reward. Because you are in a phase of your life where you can take a risk, I’d say go for it — and shoot for the moon.
Find A Mentor
In the end, everything ties back to knowledge — even mentors. You need a mentor because you are inexperienced. You need to learn. That’s what a mentor does — teaches, but goes one step further. Ben Franklin says it best — “ Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” The mentor involves you.
Think of a mentor as a nice shortcut around failures. While they may not stop everything, they can guide you around some problems and failures, and give you a shortcut to success. In addition, they provide another point of view and valuable feedback. You will find that when you enter the workforce, feedback is the most important aspect of business, because it enables you to improve.
Having a mentor is priceless, not only because it is free, but because you will trust them wholeheartedly, and they will provide you with timeless advice. They really are the “power in your corner”. And, in addition to being a teacher, they can be a connector, potentially finding your clients and allow you to grow your network.
Network
As (kind of) stated above, your network is priceless and will be the most important tool you will ever have in business. My mentor always tells me this, “it’s all about the people you know”, and that is 100% true. Today, studies have shown that up to 80% of jobs are never advertised — they are filled by word of mouth. So it’s who you know and who knows you that matters.
And, your network might not lead to clients, but lifelong friends, investors, and allies, who can help you in other ways than just sales.
(Bonus: Solve A Problem — Build a Business)
Some of you may be finishing up reading this post, and are thinking to yourself, “But you didn’t actually answer my question. How do I start making money now, to be successful in the future.” Do the above suggestions. There’s nothing else that you can do now that will be your return on investment, other than the six things listed above.
However, I am not against beginning to build capital as a teen or young adult — I’m quite the opposite.
If you find yourself having spare time, get a part-time job or start a business. Money grows exponentially, and the sooner you start to save and invest, the sooner you will see this exponential growth. Start as a team, and if you invest correctly you may be able to see this type of growth (millions of dollars a year) in your thirties to forties, rather than retirement age.
If you start a business now, and it becomes successful when you are still in high school or college, you will most likely become a millionaire by age 25. The only advice I have for building a business is solving a problem. Sure, you can make money drop shipping or consult, but all the multibillion-dollar businesses solve the problem. Even if you invent one product that sells a little problem, you will make a lot of cash.
Invest your money wisely from a business or (more likely) part-time job, Starting to build capital a teen/young adult, and investing it wisely means that you will most likely become a millionaire by age 25 — especially if you follow the principles that I mentioned above.
