Debt Free

1^st – Get a Million dollars! Seriously though, there are some ways you can become a millionaire that are proven to be successful. Real estate, consistent investing, and starting your own business. Many people will try these things with varying measures of success, but not all will become millionaires. Most millionaires in the U.S. have some common characteristics.

1 - Frugality – It's true. Most millionaires are cheap. Research and my own experience bears this out. Sadly, I can't yet testify to this from personal experience, but I've met many hundreds of millionaires through the course of my business, and it's true. Most are quite frugal, and some are so tight they could eat a lump of coal and it would come out a diamond. That's not to say millionaires don't spend money, but most thoughtfully analyze any purchases and have to be convinced of the value before they part with any of their hard earned millions.

2 - Goal Setting – Most millionaires are good goal setters. They plan for success by actually setting quantifiable goals, and upon achieving them, setting still higher ones. Most actually write them down, and usually take the time to evaluate their progress.

3 - Organization – Well, I'm doomed to failure I suppose, because that is definitely not one of my strongest qualities. Most millionaires are able to keep juggling all their tasks without dropping any.

4 - Ability to Recognize Their Strengths and Weaknesses – Most millionaires are excellent judges of talent and ability, especially their own. They know their own strengths, and use them to maximum advantage. At the same time, they know what they should outsource or delegate to those that are better then they. This is key. Sadly, you'll not be great at everything. Find someone who is strong where you're weak, and let them handle those areas. Many small business people have tremendous problems in this area, and try to wear all the hats. Don't, your head's not that big.

5 - Initiative – Most millionaires have drive and ambition. They'll take the initiative. They not only think about things, they actually do them. Too many people never get out of the gate on any of the multitude of ventures they have in their head. Thinking is definitely important, but you must not only think, you must do. If you don't take the ball and run with it, you'll never score that touchdown. Too many people sit in the end zone, waiting for that touchdown pass to land in their hands. For most, it simply doesn't work that way.

6 – Long Term Thinking – Most millionaires have the ability to look down the road and get the big picture, just like they told you to do in driver's ed. Too many people have fallen into the short-term mentality that's so prevalent in modern society. College graduates want to be executive VP the first year, and kids right out of high school think they should be a journeyman, making top dollar, right out of the gate. Well, that's not how it goes, kids. Unless you're LeBron James, you don't jump right into a starting spot in the NBA, with a $50 million Nike contract, or the equivalent in the business world. Developing wealth takes a long-term outlook and the ability to plan for the future.

Danko and Stanley noted in their book, “The Millionaire Next Door” (a book I highly recommend),  that the average U.S. millionaire is a 57 year old, self employed, family man. He's a hard worker, but not obsessive, putting in an average of 50 hrs a week. They found that 66% of these millionaires are self employed. The rest work for someone else, so if you're not of the “work for myself” mentality, or if you've already tried it and didn't like it, there's hope for you too.

If you are looking for a more agressive way to make a million dollars, I can suggest the 12 Month Millionaire. It may or may not make you a millionaire in 12 months, but it is full of valuable information to market any product on line, or off. It can seriously fast track your efforts to becomming one of our nation's growing legion of millionaires. You should really check it out.