Title: The Millionaire Mind

Author: Thomas J. Stanley

Hi all,

have you ever wondered how your life could have been different had you had a mentor to guide you on your career path, and maybe make a different decision here or there, that you might have been a little better off than you are right now?

I didn’t think of the money part when I graduated from university, however I think a mentor would have been great to talk to with regards to making decisions which jobs I should consider taking on in order to learn the most and then progress in my career field.

Guess what, the next best is with this book.

The author interviewed and surveyed a lot of millionaires to learn what they do (and did) in order to become financially well-off, what they considered to be important, and how they came to where they are today.

He splits the topics under the following headings:

An introduction to the Millionaire Mind

• Living in a lovely home, having balance in their life and being financially independent
• Not using significant amounts of leverage and credit to accumulate their wealth
  • Have little or no outstanding debt
• Not being addicted to consumption and use of credit
  • Those that are addicted to credit are no longer free but are controlled by someone else

• Being Balance Sheet Affluent and not Income Statement Affluent
  • They work to accumulate assets, and don’t live for their income
• Not living a flashy and trendy lifestyle, but in many cases live modest lifestyles
• Loving their chosen vocations (business owners, executives, physicians, etc.)
• Get enough sleep
• Not being workaholics, but work hard and enjoy socializing
• Spending time with making investment decisions, as well as time with investment and tax planners
• Do not follow the crowd, but take time to think for themselves

The five most highly regarded factors held by the interviewed millionaires were:

• Integrity
• Discipline
• Hard work
• Support of spouse
• Social skills

Further, they see it being integral to take financial risk. Not necessarily with investing in the stock market, but rather investing in ourselves, our careers, our professional practices and personal businesses.

Of the population he interviewed a great majority indicated that their education wasn’t their most significant contributor to their success. Those that were attorneys and physicians did regard this as important (for understandable reasons), however, those that had their own businesses didn’t see education being a defining factor.

• They regarded hard work as being more important than genetic high intellect

Further, most millionaires indicated that an important factor was that they were aware of their strengths and weaknesses and then developed a unique strategy so that they may become rich.

• Thus, they didn’t let IQ define who they would be in future
• Rather, they selected a vocation that was ideal for their abilities, aptitudes and interest

Another interesting factor was that they say they have a productive household. Planning their time effectively and not wasting it in shopping malls or doing wasted activities that aren’t fulfilling to them.

1. Success Factors
2. School Days
3. The Relationship between courage and wealth
4. Vocation, Vocation, Vocation
5. Choice of Spouse
6. The economically productive household
7. The Home
8. The lifestyles of millionaires: Real vs Imagined
9. A final note about the Millionaire Mind

In the table below we can see very clearly what most millionaires in their surveys regarded as being important, and there is a clear indication that majority indicated social skills (points 1) were more important than what most believed to be education (points 7):

He thus makes a very clear distinction between what we think about the lives of Millionaires (courtesy of Hollywood) and what their lives actually are like for a major proportion of them.

Summary:

A great book to guide the layperson what is truly regarded as being important by those other millionaires that we don’t hear about, yet achieved millionaire status in a way that others can too. It also lists some important values and principles. Well written and can be adopted by any person since it outlines clearly why they do things, and what benefits it holds. I give this book a rating of 4.8/5

Happy reading!! 🙂