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Why You Will Never Be A Millionaire
Posted by: Simon
Tags:
motivation, purpose
Posted date:
June 8, 2009 |
8 Comments
So you want to be a millionaire? Well let me tell you that you won’t be, unless you are clear on your purpose.
We’re all sold dreams of success and wealth – it’s what we’re bombarded with in the media and those annoying emails you get. Truth is, only a small percentage of us become that wealthy. The recession has reminded us that the economy is volatile, and heavily balanced on risk. But still, we’re told that riches are ours if we buy this product or that.
Here is the problem: many people expect to become millionaires overnight without really doing anything. At best, they think that a small burst of effort brings the rewards home. Life ain’t like that! If it was that easy, we’d all be following that path. And if we all follow it (and indeed, we are successful), then the reward will be diluted to the point that it’s worthless.
So who becomes a millionaire? Except those who inherit, or win the lotto, the people who make the big bucks are the people who take risks and apply themself with clarity of purpose . Let me emphasize this: it takes both of those things to be a millionaire.
You can take risks… invest in a startup, take that course, become an expert in XYZ technology… but without clarity of purpose and application, they remain as pure potential that is never realized. Application with clarity of purpose is the way we turn risks into opportunities that pay.
What do I mean by ‘application with clarity of purpose ?’
I mean this: you focus your effort and energy towards a clear goal envisaged by a powerful vision. It’s about knowing why, what and how.
Too many people ‘do stuff’ without really knowing why they’re doing it – they’re automatons without freedom and choice. When we have clarity of purpose, we know why we do stuff, how we do it and what it aims to achieve. And then the real magic comes when our clarity of purpose creates passion !
People without clarity of purpose (and the vision which creates it) will never be millionaires. Instead, they will meander through work and life not knowing why they do what they do.
One of the reasons why clarity of purpose doesn’t materialize is that it takes momentum to build it up. Small failures can create lost confidence and a drop in energy, leaving doubts and confusion. Truth is, most of us give up far too easily. It takes real courage to get back on the bicycle after a fall… but if we didn’t pluck up that courage the bicycle industry would have gone bust decades ago.
Do you give up too easily? Do you let your aspirations to become wealthy wither and die because of a metaphoric graze on the knee? Then I say you lack clarity of purpose.
The other reason why momentum doesn’t build up is because folks don’t play to their strengths. They do jobs because they can, but not necessarily because they’re good at it (or enjoy it). When we don’t use our strengths, we’re destined to repeat failures over and over again – it becomes a prison in our minds – a stagnating place where we don’t grow and develop or take risks. It’s amazing how many people are like this, but perhaps don’t even realize it. It’s only when they take a long look at themselves to identify their strengths do they also identify their passions and desires, and then a vision.
Find out the benefits of playing to your strengths in my Free eBook ‘The 10 Habits of Highly Effective IT Professionals‘ – download it today.
This ain’t the end of this piece. Soon, I want to tell you about how you can get back on track to becoming a millionaire (or whatver you desire) by building clarity of purpose . Find out when by subscribing to my RSS Feed !
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About the author
Simon
Simon is a creative and passionate business leader dedicated to having fun in the pursuit of innovation and personal development
Simon is a creative and passionate business leader dedicated to having fun in the pursuit of innovation and personal development
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8 Comments for Why You Will Never Be A Millionaire
simonstapleton
@Bradley – congrats on becoming a millionaire! Bradley I don’t have much to go on about your situation, but I have a couple of thoughts in response.
1) You’re probably an exception rather than the rule. In my experience, hard work alone doesn’t generate success alone, rather, it’s a component of success
2) Your motivation to ‘work hard’ must have come from somewhere. Maybe it wasn’t obvious but underneath the hard work was probably motivation generated by a goal you had set yourself and applied against… which is another way of saying you had clarity of purpose, even if the purpose was to be a millionaire come what may.
To work hard is to invest in something – something that may or may not pay off, so it is also a risk. But the risk is a calculated one based on a clear view of what the effort is to achieve, and the controls/plan-bs you put in place, is it not?
Thanks for your comment Bradley!
Nick McCormick
Timely post for me Simon. I happen to be right in the middle of Nikos Mourkogiannis’ book, “Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies.” I’m still in search of…
Michael Cruse
Simon,
I agree with you. If you do not have a goal and plan to achieve wealth, you will never take the required actions. Success does not “just happen” to most people.
For me, it took effort and planning to get where I am today. I know many people that float through life and lack the willingness to stick through tough times to achieve great success. They move from job to job or start-up to start-up because they run into some obstacles and do not have the internal strength to fight through harder times. Then they wonder why lasting success never arrives. They just have no vision of where they want to end up…
Dave Crain
Simon,
We must be drinking from the same water fountain! My last post was on the very same topic of clarity. Too weird.
I think you have an important point here that clarity of purpose is indispensable in achieving success. As I pointed out in my post “focus can too easily become narrow-mindedness, and activity doesn’t necessarily translate into progress.”
I do not want to minimize the value of hard work either. All the successful entrepreneurs I’ve worked with have basically dedicated their lives to being successful. We’re talking 7 days a week, 80+ hours a week for years dedication.
@Bradley – my guess is that you made your money through not only hard work, but with commitment to a focused plan. I think that may be what Simon is talking about.
simonstapleton
@Michael – great point! Without the clarity of purpose, corrective actions are made more difficult as there isn’t always a context in which to make the decision. If we have many competing objectives in our heads, we will often make a major compromise or make no decision at all, until issues become desparate!
simonstapleton
@Dave – I’m sure that narrow-mindedness has its place, when something absolutely must be achieved and is pivotal to strategy, but like you say it can often result in derailment – from a holistic perspective I guess.
I wonder if the o-ring incident in NASA was a result of this? (Albeit, as well as many other systematic management failures)
It takes awareness and confidence to know when to apply total focus, and when you have clarity of purpose, you are armed with the choice.
Mark McClure
@Bradley – Hey, I’m a multi-millionaire too – it says right here in my Japanese bank account!
Congrats on your success! What inspired you to work hard? And don’t get all spiritual on us 
So what am I selling? Guess…
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(c) Copyright 2011 Simon Stapleton
Simon I think this a pile of crap! I am a millionaire, and I did it without ‘clarity of purpose’ as you put it. I worked hard – that’s all.
You’re getting all spiritual on us. Or
What are you trying to sell? I can’t find the product!