The Millionaire Mindset…do you have it?

How to shift your mind and build an empire.

Becoming a millionaire seems like an impossible pipe dream, at least that’s what I thought when I graduated from college and went out into the “real world” landing a corporate sales job.

I looked at my parents who were blue-collar, hard-working people who worked well into their late 60’s and thought there has to be a better way. My upbringing was awesome, my parents were a present part of my life, my father a school teacher and my mother a corporate professional. Both very active in my life and my older brothers. I guess I just couldn’t see myself doing the same “grind” my parents did for the next 40 years of my life. My father always said to me, we provided a good life for you and your brother, but we always want you kids to have a better life for your family.

"This got me thinking…I had to do things differently or I’d be working until I was 60 also, and so it began."

Hitting our first million at the age of 34, with multiple six figure fitness businesses, has led me to this point of what next? My passion for helping other entrepreneurs recognize their potential is at the heart of why I created this site and content, so they- you can get started on your path. I know you are reading this and YOU already have the passion, the ideas, and the drive. You lack what I lacked about five years ago…the right sales funnel and back-end processes. As you read along, know that I’m your average everyday girl, a friend, a wife, a mother, a neighbor, who works her ass off but merely has mastered the “work smarter model” creating residual income streams that are sustainable and I’m excited to help you do the same!

Here are some of my best practices along with other insider success secrets that you can use to supercharge your career and wealth.

Live well below your means; Stay humble; Have Discipline.

The first tip for becoming financially wealthy is to live as modestly as possible. Save your money. Save as much money as you possibly can and cut up your credit cards. If you are wrapped up in the “what money can buy mindset” you’ll most likely blow every penny you earn, leaving you with materialistic assets, not real wealth. The first step to having financial success and living a millionaire life is to lead a life of discipline.

Money is an opportunity. The more of it you avoid blowing on frivolous purchases, the more you’ll have to invest towards that first million or to use for your new business idea.

When I hit my first $10K month, I decided to reinvest a % of that income back into my growing businesses. I thought about how much income my family needed to live off, the necessities comfortably, and then made some investments with the rest. I continued this pattern. The more money you make, the more you can invest and have your money start making money for you, or help your current business grow to higher levels.

Focus on quality above everything; Control your scatter brain.

“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.” –Steve Jobs

I’ve seen it time and again: entrepreneurs will rush out a sloppily put together product or service, only to be eventually replaced by a more disciplined competitor. Moreover, if you’ve ever read anything about Steve Jobs, you’ll know that his path to billionaire status involved obsessive perfectionism (much to the chagrin of his team).

Even if you’re not making the next iPhone, there’s a lesson to be learned here: delivering your best and final work might take longer, but it can eventually take you to wealthy status.

With the clients I coach, I often say, “Whats your value proposition, with the business you want to grow, and let us nail that brand and implement the right back-end processes to make it robust and thriving.  Entrepreneurs, including myself, often have a million ideas floating around in their brain and usually, we scatter our ideas so thin that we lack having one substantial enterprise to market. FOCUS ON QUALITY AND EXECUTION FIRST!

Think about sustainability…not trading time for dollars

Successful entrepreneurs are always thinking one step ahead of everyone else. Alternatively, in the CEO of Amazon’s case, he’s still thinking ten years ahead.

“Think about what are the things you know will be true even ten years from now.” Jeff Bezos, who’s worth a whopping $70 billion, says. “Your competitive set will change, that technologies that you have available to you will change, but the customer needs — if you find the right ones — will achieve stability over time and then you  build strategies around them.”

Don’t seek get-rich-quick schemes. Learn and know the value of a long-term plan, and patiently focus on results that will sustain your business model for decades.

Success doesn’t come easy, and any entrepreneur will tell you that. It IS hard work, but to become wealthy, you can learn how to work smarter not necessarily harder. In other words, you learn how to master the market you want to be in, in our case the fitness industry; you won’t have to trade time for dollars every day.

It didn’t take me long to recognize that real wealth doesn’t come from trading time for dollars…it came from learning the online world (yes even for my brick and mortar fitness studio), learning consumer behaviors, and how to implement the right back-end processes to convert customers creating residual income streams that are sustainable.

Find a mentor; Constantly seek out people smarter than you.

In today’s hyper-competitive business world, one might think that billionaires wouldn’t even give each other the time of day.

The opposite tends to be true, like with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who said: “Don’t be threatened by people smarter than you.”

Whether it’s meeting with a competitor to exchange information, or seeking out a mentor, the path to millionaire status involves continuously seeking out brighter and more talented people, rather than trying to squash them.

Before seeking out mentors, write down your specific needs and business goals and the role you want them to play in your career development, this will help ensure that you find the right mentors and relationships that benefit your professional goals.

1.

Develop a great social IQ; Learn how to lead different personalities.

When I worked in the pharmaceutical sales industry, the ability to be almost a chameleon with whom I was speaking with was part of my approach.

• I had to learn this to stay alive in the industry.
• Once I learned someone's personality, strengths and expectations, I’d cater my presentation so that they’d respond positively.
• Leading people is NOT a one size fits all and your success depends on your ability to “read people.”

Successful entrepreneurs know that EQ, and the ability to respond to others’ emotions, is just as important as IQ. The good news: this is a skill you can develop today.

2.

Be a flexible.

Staying nimble and open to new opportunities is critical to continuing success.

RULE #1- First business models rarely pan out, but millionaires don’t throw up their hands and accept defeat when that happens.

They adjust. They adjust thousands of times if they have to, until opportunity strikes.

I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve revamped my business models and process over the last five years, never throwing the full towel in, merely adapting to make it more efficient and current with technology and trends.  I’ve had many failures along the way, from failed business partnerships to throwing money at bad social media campaigns…however, I’ve learned that small hiccups usually were the best teaching moments and how I responded to these moments left me a more resilient entrepreneur ultimately increasing my bottom line.

3.

Being understood is overrated. 

If you are overly concerned with what others think about you, you are in the wrong business.

In the pursuit of my dreams and building my businesses,  I’ve been told

“I’m crazy, nuts, have bigger balls then most men, oh the list goes on.”

People ask if I ever sleep…well, I do, but I don’t waste much time while I am awake. Matter of fact, sometimes at 11 pm, my whole house is asleep, and I’m up writing truth like this, because it’s on my heart to share with all of you. Entrepreneurs don’t get to where they are by marching to the tune of someone else’s drum. Often, rejection and being misunderstood is the norm.

As the billionaire co-founder of Oracle Corporation, Larry Ellison, says, “When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for everyone telling you you’re nuts.”

So don’t be discouraged if you have a passion, a gift or a dream, go for it. Wealth doesn’t come from being just like everyone else. You never know until you give your “crazy” idea a try what your life could become.

Let me know what YOU struggle with!