The Millionaire in You

Ten Things You Need to Do Now to Have Money and the Time to Enjoy It
Michael LeBoeuf (04700)

At the end of the twentieth century, one in every fourteen U.S. households had a net worth of $1 million or more. In practical terms, that means the opportunity to obtain the financial freedom to do whatever you want is statistically closer now than at any other time in history.

For most people, however, the goal is not simply to achieve millionaire status, but to have sufficient time and money to do whatever they feel passionate about. In other words, money alone, without the time to enjoy it, is not so great.

Put differently, true financial freedom means to have enough money and enough time to enjoy it. To achieve that in practice, you have to master four different skill sets:

1. You need to make enough money so you have discretionary funds to invest.
2. You have to learn how to save money rather than spending every dime you make (and borrowing still more).
3. You must master how to invest your money in such a way it will continue to appreciate in value regardless of the market cycles.
4. You need to know how to enjouy your money — something most people consider a no-brainer.

Relatively few people manage to master all four skills, but until you do, financial freedom will remain just like a mirage, which is consistently beyond your grasp. And yet, if you commit to learning and doing everything that’s requjired, you almost certainly will become a millionaire.

So how do you create the millionaire that already lies inside you?

1. See the possibilities, which lie in abundance everywhere around you every single day.
2. Do what it takes to create your fortune using your unique set of skills, talents and interests.
3. Know when to step back, celebrate your financial freedom and enjoy it.

The Millionnaire in You

The Real Warren Buffett: Managing Capital, Leading People

by James O’Loughlin (02000)

Warren Buffett has served 40 years as chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway. During that time, the company’s market value has grown from $600 million to $109 billion — a compoud growth rate of 25% per yar. (If Berkshire were to continue that rate of growth for the next 34 years, it would absorb the entire U.S. economy). Today, Berkshire generates annual revenues of $30 billion and employs 112,000 people.

So what is it Warren Buffett is doing differently (and better) than everyone else? This is more than being a good stock picker and investor. Instead, Warren Buffett acts like a CEO who owns the company. He has developed a framework which allows him to do three specific tasks exceptionally well:

Act like the owner of the entire business:
1. Lead and motivate able people
2. Allocate capital intelligently
3. Stay within your Circle of Competence

The challenge, therefore, in emulating the accomplishments of Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway is not to become better at assembling a stock portfolio but to become a better CEO.

The Real Warren Buffett

How to Influence Using Likeability

(16418) Dave Lakhani says:

Most people want to do business with those they like rather than those organizations they dislike. It’s always much easier to accept ideas from someone you like as opposed to speaking with someone you feel complete indifference for.

Being likeable doesn’t mean being best friends with everyone you want to persuade. Instead, you simply have to be pleasant and comfortable to be around. You’re more likely to be likeable if:

You have some shared experiences

You hail from the same geographical area

You have similar interests and tastes

You’re well-spoken and refuse to share rumors

You’re knowledgeable and happy to share information

You use humor when appropriate to reduce tensions

You actively listen and participate in conversations

You share something personal to you

You’re a good conversationalist

You have high self-esteem

You’re in a good mood

It’s human nature to want to try and reward the people you like. To use this advantageously, work at accentuating the commonalities you share with those you’re trying to persuade.

How to Influence Using Inconsequence

(16417) Dave Lakhani says:

Popular wisdom states that the jouney of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The same is true of persuasion. To get people on your side, don’t try to get them to accept one big idea. Instead, get the other person to accept a whole lot of little ideas until his or her resistance to the big idea is reduced to a manageable size.

Inconsequence requires the small points agreed to or the small concessions made to lead to the big decision you want them to make. This is not a party trick where you get people to say yes to a bunch of things and then throw in a completely different idea you also want them to say yes to. Instead, you want to carefully select the most influential and easiest to accept idea first. Get the other person’s agreement on that point, and then others. By the time a final decision is required, it will be very easy for them to come to the appropriate conclusion.

In some ways, inconsequence is actually a covert persuasion tactic. It engages the feeling of accomplishment. Once a few points have been ironed out, and some minor agreements reached, it will feel good. Both you and the other person will feel like progress is being made. Rapport and friendship will increase because you’ll feel like you have something in common. On the basis of the fact that solutions have been found to a number of different aspects, the other party will feel like they are in reach of finalizing a solution to the bigger problem. There will be no desire on their part to revisit old points or go over old ground with someone new. This is the beauty of inconsequence as an influencer. The other person or people will be much less likely to want to restart the process with someone new when the promise of finalizing a solution is right on the horizon.

Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want

by Dave Lakhani (16400)

Persuasion is the art and science of getting exactly what you want. In its highest form, you use persuasive techniques to position yourself as an expert and to help other people get what they want. Persuasion can and must be used to create win-win situations for everyone involved. This is a key distinction between manipulation and persuasion. Manipulative techniques never result in a lasting relationship, whereas those relationships (business or personal) based on the use of persuasion tools do endure.

A look at the overall persuasive process is:

[ Position + Presentation ] X Influence = Persuasion

Persuasion truly is the art of getting what you want. Most of us throughout our lives have failed to reach the levels of success that we dreamed of, and not because it was not available to us. We have failed to reach those reasonable goals because we have failed to persuade those who can help us achieve them. And the biggest reason they will not help is because we have not asked them. People cannot help you achieve your dreams of success if they do not know they exist. But remember, as Zig Ziglar says, ‘You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.’ The art of persuasion is identifying what the people you are persuading want and helping them achieve it. Virtually every element of human interaction involves some level of persuasion.

–Dave Lakhani

Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want

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