THE BIG ADVICE from RICH LIKE THEM by Ryan D’Agostino
CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER: THE BIG ADVICE
From RICH LIKE THEM by Ryan D’Agostino
• OPEN YOUR EYES: In Order To Connect the Dots That Lead To Wealth, First You Have To See the Dots.
To dream up a life-changing idea, you don't need any skills you don't already have—all around you, every day, there are clues that can lead you to wealth. You just have to see them, which means training your brain.
Example: Carole Reichhelm, Westport, CT: She always, always looks for waterfront property—even in Arkansas, of all places, where she bought 3 1/2 riverfront acres for a song while on vacation.
• LUCK DOESN’T EXIST: How To Get Yourself One of Those “Lucky” Breaks People Are Always Getting.
They say luck happens when "preparedness meets opportunity,” but if you don’t know what the opportunity will be, how do you prepare for it? By preparing for anything.
Example: Frank Heurich, Lake Forest, IL: A family friend asked him to help start a business. Heurich eventually took it over, ran it for fifty years, and now lives in a mansion on Lake Michigan. What luck! But in fact, Heurich had tried hard to become someone who would be valuable to any business. (Heurich's business? He makes machines that peel shrimp.)
• THE ECONOMICS OF OBSESSION: You Need More Than Passion. You Need An Intensity That Will Scare People.
Being passionate about your work is one thing. But being obsessive, that’s when you really start to have fun—and make money. Truly successful people don’t just love their work, they live it. Even if you don't work in a traditionally high-paying field, if you live it, you'll find the money.
Example: I met a woman I Austin who had worked for Dell Computer back when it was an upstart. She felt so energized by being at an exciting, new company that she worked night and day. “I didn’t know any better,” she told me. A few years later, she was worth several million dollars. And not just because she had the good fortune to be an employee at the right time. Her job inspired her, so she wanted every day to go on forever.
• THE MYTH OF RISK: It Turns Out That "Big" Gambles Aren't Always So Big.
Some of the people D’Agostino met appeared to have taken colossal risks, but really they just worked harder to tilt the odds in their favor. They tried to anticipate every possible outcome of the risk they were taking.
Example: Ron Irvine, Lake Forest, IL: He left the safety of a high-paying corporate job to start a consulting firm out of his den with two young kids—but only because he used to hire consulting firms himself, and he knew he could do better than any of the firms he had ever hired. Within a few years, his revenues were in the millions.
• HUMILITY: The Secret Ingredient
Humility doesn’t mean downplaying your abilities or aw-shucksing your way through life. Humility is the reason anyone rolls up her sleeves, stays late when no one else does, and fixes her own coffee. Humility makes you work harder, earn more money, and enjoy life to the fullest.
Example: Heidi Roizen, Atherton, CA: As an influential venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, Roizen could sit back and wait for the best ideas to trickle up to her. But Roizen made a habit of grabbing coffee with any young entrepreneur who was brave enough to ask, because you never know whether the kid will turn out to be the next Bill Gates.