Secrets of the Super Rich

I was looking for some light reading this weekend and this magazine caught my eye. The cover page article is actually pretty interesting. The “Super Rich” part did it’s job in catching my eye but it would more aptly be named “The Secrets of the Super Successful” but I digress. I really enjoyed the article so I thought I would post the seven secrets here and several of the quotes that I highlighted in my copy.

1. Perseverance beats education.

If this wasn’t true, I feel I’d be in trouble in my profession. I’m a programmer the majority of the time but didn’t really take much computer science in college. I’ve gotten where I am completely through hard work, not through being smart.

“Smartness is an ability to absorb new facts. To ask an insightful question. A capacity to remember. To relate to domains that may not seem connected at first.” – Bill Gates

Love the absorb new facts line and the connect things that normally don’t seem connected. I am fortunate to be around a lot of smart people, so often I just sit back and soak it all in. I also think one of my strengths is common sense and making things simple which relates to the latter part of Bill’s quote. Can we agree that I’m smart? No? Maybe next year…

“I think I overcame every single one of my personal shortcomings by the sheer passion I brought to my work. I don’t know if you are born with this kind of passion or if you can learn it. But I do know you need it.” – Sam Walton

I really think passion and a desire to do good are the best things you can bring to your career. People love passion. In fact, from what I’ve seen, people respond to passion over reason. The reason I team passion and good together is otherwise you might end up like Jim Jones or some other cult.

2. Make your own luck.

My dad used to play the quarter game with my sister and I. He would flip a quarter and whoever guessed correctly would win all the change in his pocket (which was often dollars!). I won the game one time out of maybe 50 in my life and my dad probably lied because he knew I couldn’t take another loss. In fact, he used to pull out the quarter and I would run away crying, yelling that he should just give Em the money. I say all that to point out that making your own luck is important to me because I don’t have any. :)

“I don’t consider myself to be lucky. I think luck is preparation meeting a moment of opportunity.” – Oprah Winfrey (this ones for Erin cause I know she loves herself some Oprah)

Luck can also be defined as having vision or being flexible or forward thinking. – Anna Isgro, article author

“I don’t remember any mistakes, only the opportunity to overcome problems.” – James Sorenson

“Vision is what determines who will be a leader. Great leaders can see how a situation will play out and take action in response.” – Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad

3. Gamble, but wisely.

“People who win are careful with their thoughts, not saying ‘I can’t do that.’ Or ‘It’s too risky.’ Or ‘I can’t afford it.’ Instead they say, ‘How can I do that?’ Or ‘How can I reduce my risk?’ Or ‘How can I afford it?’” – Robert Kiyosaki

4. Know your market…intimately.

“Experts have more highly differentiated cognitive abilities. They can see opportunities others can’t and figure out how to turn them into a business.” – Kelly Shaver, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies

I know the web but that is not my a market. It is a tactic. So what do I know intimately? I grew up on a farm. I probably know farming better than any other web developer. Farming, at least on the scale that my dad operates, is very technical. Chemical measurements. Irrigation systems. GPS. Knowing when to sell and buy. Hedges and futures, etc. That said, there aren’t a lot of people building web applications for farmers and co-ops. It could be a huge market.

5. Focus obsessively, and work, work, work.

Focus is uber important. You have to hedgehog. I don’t necessarily agree with the work, work, work though. Maybe it’s important to be a billionaire but I think you can be plenty successful working normal hours.

“The rich don’t base their actions on what’s easy and convenient.” – T. Harv Eker

“If you don’t know every aspect of what you are doing, down to the paper clips, you’re setting yourself up for some unwelcome surprises.” – Donald Trump

6. Timing is everything.

“I had zero expectations that the market was efficient or had a clue about what it was doing. So when I had the opportunity to protect myself, I did. – Mark Cuban, who sold broadcast.com to yahoo and then sold his yahoo stock in 1999 before the 2000 dot com bust, he now owns the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks

Enough said. Mark Cuban is the man.

7. It’s not just (or even mostly) about the money.

“No one is saying that they don’t like wealth; but what matters more is the innovation, the intense commitment they have to an idea and the difference it can make. Money is the byproduct.” – Raphael Amit, Wharton School management professor

Once you hit comfortable, money is no longer an issue. It’s about creating value by making something great (whether it’s a company or a piece of software or whatever).

Conclusion

I love lists and quotes, so needless to say, this article hit home with me. I’ve been thinking and reading a lot lately about what makes people successful. I haven’t read the rest of the magazine yet but I’ll post again if I find anything else this good.