Today I was going through my old favorites and came upon this 2002 article – You think like a million bucks. The article went on to list the most common characteristics of millionaires. Here they are:

“MILLIONAIRES SEE A HALF-FULL GLASS”
“THEY SEIZE THE DAY”
“THEY HAVE A MASTER PLAN”
“THEY FEEL ENTITLED TO THEIR MONEYBAGS”
“THEY KNOW THE UPS AND DOWNS OF INVESTING”
“THEY FIND WAYS TO MAKE MONEY DOING WHAT THEY LOVE”
“THEY KNOW THEY COULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN”

Back in high school I was out playing golf with my golf buddy and his dad. During our round of golf I told my friend and his dad that someday I was going to be a millionaire. Boy did I get laughed off the course. For about two holes they wouldn’t stop laughing and criticizing me saying, “Do you know how many zeros are in a million?” “Are you serious?” “I’ll believe it when I see it”. To this day I still remember that day, what I was wearing, what hole we were on, how they said it, and their doubtful attitude. Above anything their criticism motivated me more then anything to one day become a millionaire. I was only 17 at the time and I didn’t know how, but I knew I would.

Then came college...I still remember the class and teacher...quantitative methods and professor George. During one of our boring classes I was introduced to the power of compound. George laid out how by dollar cost averaging and investing $500/month from 22 to 30 that I could have $6.5 million by the time I turned 65 (@ 12% interest). I was AMAZED and so was the whole class. Everyone asked more questions that day then they did in the entire semester. He went on to explain that a person who invested from 30 to 65 would end up having less. That is when I realized...this is my ticket to becoming a millionaire. I’m going to invest $500/month right after I graduate college at least until I turned 30 (and I did!).

Finally, right out of college I went to see a “financial advisor” at one of the big brokerage firms in our town. I went in there with a bit of skepticism, and came away with an important tidbit that I carry with me today. He tried to get me sucked into one of his “HIGH Growth tech funds”, but the thing that stuck out the most was he asked me a question. He asked me, “what are your goals?” I said “what do you mean? For tomorrow, week, month, or this year?” He said, “No what are your goals for when you turn 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 75, and 85?” I said, “Hmm...I’ve never thought about that.” I went home that night and wrote out my life goals.” To this day I still have those goals and am working to accomplish all of them, which include financial, spiritual, physical, family, and educational.

Like the above article wrote about millionaires have a master plan. For me my master plan is my life goals. I know what I want to accomplish and by when. It’s in my yearly goals that I set out how I’m going to accomplish these goals to meet the next 5-year increment goal. If you haven’t thought about it, then write down your goals!! For me having a master plan has been the biggest compass for staying on track. Do you have one?

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