According to Oxfam we live in a world where only 62 people own as much as the poorest half of the world's population.
Fair enough this statistic may be very concerning, nonetheless this article does not aim to explain it, nor will give you a recipe on how to join the billion dollar club. I am personally interested in revealing the habits, life philosophies and mindset these outliers possess.
Well understood and taught these tactics can certainly demystify the drivers of remarkable achievements in life.
Sky is NOT the limit. Stop for a moment and ask yourself what is your long-term goal in life. The answer probably follows a pattern like this: great education, a dream job and a safe retirement; and there is nothing wrong with this typical middle-class plan, except it sets you a goal limit that will cap your efforts. Billionaires do not believe there is a limit in life concerning what can be achieved. They are either growing or dying, contracting or developing and this is their operating DNA from day one until the end of their lives. See the difference. One work to stop overtime and the other one never stops working. The latter as a consequence is applying insanely greater amounts of effort to get more done and accomplished. They see a life made of limits as boring and love breaking them. Sounds familiar why Tom Brady, Roger Federer, Lebron James and Pele always wanted more, why they think the game is never over…
They define work life balance very differently. Work and life are in a constant and intense symbioses. Signing nine digit checks requires an above the normal level of passion, which is a catalyst to keep them running longer and longer journeys than ordinary people do.
Reputation is their most valuable resource. This is probably the only asset they never trade or ever risk. The billion club summit is “the place of the few” and where their word`s value is the only accepted entry pass.
They surround themselves by other ambitious A plus players and reward them extremely well. In physics opposites attract ⎻ In life and business, like attracts like. If you do not think big and believe you can change the world, they will find another person to deal with. This is their mantra when building teams and selecting who they work with: people who must also devote their lives for their companies. Successful A players also get rewarded with above the average financial recognition and may become partners. They get a seat at the “family's table” and gain first hand access to the nuts and bolts of how to make real money. Most importantly billionaires are not afraid of sharing with the masses how to produce a fortune, as they strongly believe the world would better off with more people like them.
Invest their own money whenever possible. They hate the world credit because it removes freedom. With a sharp long term vision they know profits will scale faster if a new venture can be self-funded. On the other hand investing their own funds enable a faster time to market and a unique chance to leave the competition on the dust.
They exude passion for mentoring. If you wonder how I had the privilege to spend a day next to a billionaire, it was because I did not know who the person was first place and simply asked “can you mentor me” and the answer was positive. This reminded me successful people are always proud of what they have built and will be even prouder to use his or her legacy to produce new leaders and improve the ones who care about it.
Reading is their secret nuclear weapon. 75% of Americans 16 and older read a book last year while while CEOs average 4-5 books per month. Several members of the billion dollar club came from humble settings and all they had growing up was access to books, which overtime became a source of information and power, average people ignore by not reading enough.
Body and mind come first in the morning. They are early birds and like a Swiss watch exercise daily, precisely at the same time. Exercising in their opinion is a good way to keep them physically strong, massage their brain and a moment for mindfulness attention to life and plan for the day.
They are generous and give back money and time. “Humanity owns the world” and this is a shared purpose that explains why we exist in their minds. Everyone deserves a fair shot to succeed, reason why their power is used to support substantial investments in charity. Most importantly they are always in the trenches defining, inspecting and measuring how their contributions are returned in this area. It is also an intrinsic motivation to their endlessness development - Get more, share more. Very often they are seen personally driving efforts that will make this world a better place.
Billionaires are endangered, and sadly it makes it harder to the other 7.5 billion people on the face of this planet to realize the payoffs of learning early in life to be resourcefulness, deeply believing knowledge is power and employing significantly higher amounts efforts in their venture life.
If you also believe sky is not the limit, keep on moving ahead of the average, adapt to change and grow the people around you. You may be closer than you think to those outliers who have shaped today's world.
Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I would love to debate these and other viewpoints.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Vinicius David is an executive in tech, passionate for talent development and fanatic to drive innovation.
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