Focus on increasing your earning potential first, as it’s difficult to get rich investing without initial capital. Your greatest return on investment (ROI) is in yourself and your time, so obsess over increasing your earnings potential.
Believe that money is not inherently hard to make, but rather requires acquiring valuable skills. Pay attention to your finances daily, review bank accounts, track sales, and take one money-related action every day to compound wealth and gain freedom to make your own decisions.
Instead of asking for a raise, understand how your actions contribute to the business’s revenue and propose a percentage of the additional money you bring in. This demonstrates an owner’s mindset and makes you incredibly valuable to your employer.
When young, prioritize working a 9-to-5 job in a high-paying industry like finance to accumulate knowledge and capital. Leverage corporate training programs and put an ’exit clock’ on, leaving when learning or earning potential plateaus.
Optimize for learning over immediate higher earnings in your 20s, as learning has unlimited upside potential. This foundational knowledge can compound over decades to generate significant wealth.
Position yourself in environments where you can learn as much as possible and be around people who are significantly wealthier than you. This exposure can expand your perception of what’s possible and provide valuable networking opportunities and advice.
The best way to gain mentors is to work directly for them at high-performing companies. This allows you to get paid while being mentored, learning valuable skills and strategies directly from successful individuals.
When seeking a job, apply with extreme focus and effort, demonstrating your value upfront rather than just submitting a generic resume. Create custom content, offer solutions to company problems, or provide relevant research to stand out.
If you truly desire something, pursue it with relentless determination. Most people give up easily, so by being obstinate and putting in extra effort, you significantly increase your chances of success.
View hard work, especially when young, as a spiritual endeavor that builds character and reveals your true capabilities. Working intensely on something you’re obsessed with, alongside a high-performing team, offers invaluable feedback and growth.
When you’re no longer obsessed with your role or learning, transition out of the company with grace and gratitude. Offer a smooth handover and avoid turning yourself into a victim, maintaining positive relationships for future opportunities.
When faced with significant losses or failures, choose to learn from them rather than giving up. Analyze what went wrong and acquire new knowledge or skills to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
When considering partnerships or investments, pay close attention to your initial gut feeling about individuals. If there’s any hesitation, implement a rule to observe them for a year before proceeding, as it’s hard to maintain a facade for that long.
Before making significant investments in businesses, conduct forensic audits to thoroughly examine the numbers. This helps uncover potential fraud or accidental financial mismanagement by entrepreneurs who may not have clean books.
If you’re a first-time entrepreneur, concentrate all your efforts on making one business profitable and self-sustainable. Avoid distractions until that core business can operate without your constant, full-time focus.
For experienced entrepreneurs with successful exits, consider layering additional businesses that are ‘accretive,’ meaning they enhance or leverage existing assets (e.g., a media platform to sell products). This ensures one plus one equals three, rather than creating distractions.
Treat money like a ‘mistress’ that requires constant attention; if you don’t, someone else will. Regularly check your bank accounts, track business metrics, and take at least one money-related action every day to foster financial growth.
While saving is easier initially, earning offers unlimited upside compared to saving, which can only take you to zero. Focus on increasing your income streams as a long-term strategy for wealth creation.
Instead of starting a new business, consider acquiring existing ones that already have a proven track record of profitability and cash flow. This reduces risk as past performance is often the best predictor of future behavior.
Develop a mindset where rejections and ’no’s’ bounce off you, rather than accumulating as confirmation bias for failure. Rich people often have this ‘armor of no’s’ from repeated rejections, which fuels their perseverance.
Identify and nurture relationships with ‘allies’—people who genuinely want you to succeed, even if it means you surpass them. These individuals see your success as a collective win and will support your growth journey.
Maintain friendships that have no transactional value, where neither party expects anything from the other beyond companionship. These ‘worthless friends’ are crucial for increasing happiness and provide genuine connection, unlike transactional relationships.
Value your reputation above all else, as it is incredibly difficult to regain once lost. Be transparent and congruent between your public persona and private actions to build trust and maintain integrity.
Practice radical transparency by openly discussing your flaws, challenges, and unpopular truths. This inoculates your audience against potential criticism and builds a stronger, more authentic connection with those who resonate with your honesty.
Actively mute, block, and ignore online trolls and negative comments. They only exist in your sphere if you allow them, and protecting your energy from their negativity is crucial for focus and well-being.
When confronted with hate or criticism, mentally send good wishes to the person. This practice, based on the idea that happy people don’t spread negativity, helps you combat draining negative emotions and maintain your inner peace.
If you have no money, the quickest way to earn is to find others who possess valuable products or services and sell them for a high price. This leverages existing value and allows you to slot into an established market.
Instead of just selling, negotiate for a percentage of the business in exchange for the sales or value you bring in. This is a form of ‘partial acquisition’ that allows you to gain ownership without significant upfront capital.
Actively go door-to-door in your local area, asking business owners if they’ve considered selling their business. Use seller financing to acquire businesses with minimal personal risk, leveraging the fact that many owners are open to selling.
Consistently put in just 10% more effort on tasks you dislike, especially early in the day. This builds willpower and self-discipline, enabling you to tackle more challenging things that most people avoid, leading to long-term success.
Practice negotiating prices and terms in everyday situations, even for small purchases like coffee or hotel stays. This skill is highly profitable and underutilized, allowing you to differentiate yourself and save money.
Recognize that the first ’no’ is rarely the final answer in negotiations. Most people give up after the initial rejection, so by persevering and finding alternative approaches, you can often achieve your desired outcome.
To assess and improve business health, focus on four key metrics: reviews, referrals, retention, and reduction of churn. These indicators reveal product quality and customer loyalty, making it easier to grow and sustain the business.
Before hiring, clearly define the specific problem you need to solve and the exact persona required to solve it. Your first hire should ideally complement your weaknesses, rather than mirroring your strengths.
Utilize tools like the Colby test to understand a candidate’s natural way of operating and what ‘fills their tank.’ This helps match individuals to roles that align with their innate strengths and motivations.
When hiring for an implementer role, ask candidates to share their calendar in real-time. A highly detailed, color-coded, and time-blocked calendar indicates strong organizational skills, while a disorganized one suggests otherwise.
To evaluate candidates for fast-action roles, present a current business problem and ask what they would do about it today. Assess their ability to think quickly through next steps and accurately estimate timelines for completion.
Offer a paid project scope to candidates to assess their capabilities and speed. For example, request a one-page brief within 24 hours to see their commitment and output quality under pressure.
As a leader, cultivate a vision so compelling that others feel their own aspirations are amplified by joining you. Strive to be so effective that top talent is drawn to work with you, believing they can achieve more together.
Focus on being a leader who genuinely helps employees become better versions of themselves in their careers. This creates an addictive environment for high performers who are constantly seeking growth and improvement.
Distinguish between being ’nice’ (superficial pleasantries) and being ‘kind’ (genuinely helping someone, even if it’s uncomfortable). Prioritize kindness by offering practical support and honest feedback, rather than performing niceties.
When parting ways with an employee, offer them a ‘golden bridge’ to retreat, allowing them to leave with dignity and respect. Avoid speaking ill of former employees, as this negatively impacts your reputation among current staff.
Implement 30-60-90 day plans with specific outcomes for all new hires, followed by quarterly Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This provides clear expectations and prevents surprises regarding performance or employment status.
Consistently follow through on your commitments, as this is one of the most underrated ways to succeed. Project manage yourself to ensure you honor your word, over-communicating if expectations need to be adjusted.
Adopt the mindset of a ‘helper’ rather than a ‘Yelper.’ If you encounter an issue with a small business, address it directly with the owner instead of leaving a negative public review, recognizing the disproportionate impact of negative feedback.
Cultivate a giving mindset, operating from a place of abundance where you believe that others’ success does not diminish your own. High performers often over-give, fostering mutual winning and collaborative environments.
Allocate significant resources to continuous learning, such as buying books and taking courses on new skills or technologies. This investment helps you stay sharp, improve efficiency, and adapt to evolving landscapes.
Consciously choose to dress professionally, as research suggests that ‘put-togetherness’ can positively impact earnings. Your appearance contributes to first impressions and how seriously others perceive your value.
Read biographies of successful billionaires to identify repeatable models and reverse-engineer their strategies. This provides practical application and a higher degree of confidence in your own entrepreneurial endeavors compared to theoretical self-help books.
Establish clear, quantifiable definitions and metrics for all terms within your business. Avoid ‘squishy’ words like ‘good’ to ensure everyone is on the same page and conversations are productive.
Develop and utilize playbooks for various business processes. This ensures consistency, efficiency, and scalability, allowing your team to execute tasks effectively.
Leverage your W-2 income stream to invest in assets that generate additional income, such as hotels, Airbnbs, laundromats, or car washes. This strategy allows you to build wealth with less personal risk than starting a new business from scratch.
Diversify your investments across various asset classes, including traditional options like the stock market and bonds, to protect against downside risk and ensure longevity of wealth.
Implement a daily ’team’ ritual with your spouse, involving touching, educating each other on what you learned, expressing appreciation (with new examples daily), and discussing ‘metrics’ (areas for improvement) to address small issues before they escalate.
Conduct a weekly ’expectation meeting’ with your spouse to discuss upcoming schedules, energy levels, and potential challenges. This proactive communication helps manage stress, avoid misunderstandings, and ensure mutual support during demanding periods.
If one partner is in an intense ‘build season’ (e.g., residency, book launch), establish clear expectations and compromises for that period. Agree on specific ways to prioritize the relationship (e.g., dedicated date nights, planned vacations) to sustain connection through demanding times.