Become a Tulsa Millionaire

In order to become a millionaire you need a road map to get there. It is just like driving from Tulsa to Silverdale Washington. In order to make it you need a plan. Before we look at a plan lets look at some statistics provided by Wally Schmader.

American Self-Made Millionaires Statistics:
The Average Millionaire:

• Was 56 years old when they became a net-worth millionaire
• Reads 800% more Non-Fiction books than the average person
• Has been broke 7 times in his or her life.
• Works 50+ hours per week
• Over 80% are self-employed.
• 95% of all American Millionaires have written clearly defined career goals.

These statistics give hope to those of us under 56 years of age, who have worked 50 + hours a week, been broke at least 7 times and have written clearly defined career goals while owning our own business and reading our non-fiction books. It should also give hope to those who are approaching or are over 56 years of age to know that 56 is the average. I know of several millionaires who are in their teens and early 20's so that means there have to be some that reach the million dollar net worth when they are in their 80's or 90's.

I will now list the 15 crucial steps to becoming a self made millionaire listed by Wally Schmader. I will then expound on each.

Fifteen Crucial Steps for becoming a Self-Made Millionaire

1. Dream Big - There are no accidental self-made millionaires.
2. Do what you love - Discover the parts of the job you love... those are the areas where you will excel.
3. See yourself as Self-Employed - (Even if you are not) - You are the president of You Inc.
4. Focus on your Strengths - What are they? Ask others too.
5. Never consider the possibility of Failure. - It is the real world ... you will have ups and downs. Embrace the learning opportunities... you will never get to a million without them.
6. Develop a clear sense of direction - let people help you on this.
7. Develop a Hard-Working Mentality- Lazy people have no chance ... the marketplace responds reliably to effort + high expectations
8. Get Exposed to the Right People - Who are the millionaires you know now?
9. Be Teachable - Develop a Reputation for listening.
10. Develop the Resilience to Bounce Back - Become known for your toughness.
11. Be prepared to climb from Peak to Peak - Ask a millionaire ... this is how it works!
12. Focus on Continual Self-Development - Learn, Learn, Learn... from good examples & bad examples (they all help you set your direction and make adjustments).
13. Be an Unshakable Optimist.
14. Concentrate "Single-Minded" on one thing at a time. "Is what I'm doing bringing me closer to my goals?"
15. Back your Plans and Goals with PERSISTENCE.

Dream Big - WOW I love to dream. I never want my dreams to be so little I can reach them. I use to dream about making 50,000 a year and they I dreamed about making 75,000 a year and the 100,000 and each time I would reach the dream my dream would get bigger. We have to allow ourselves to believe in dreams. Our dreams are a part of our sub-conscious and a part of a hidden desire for more. I also think it is alright to dream about what good you can do with your large home and extra cash. I want to help millions of others eat and prepare a place for them to sleep in comfort. Our dreams are so much better and mean so much more when we can dream about helping others. It is also alright to dream about the extravagant for ourselves. Dream big, get a poster board and cut out pictures of a large house, a vacation, an adopted family. Whatever your dream is get it in visual format that you can look at every day.

Do what you love - This is an obvious in my mind but I still see and hear people going to work everyday that hate what they do. Some of them I see hate their jobs but love helping other people at church or at a shelter. They are servants. So maybe they could help organize a non-profit organization that helps others. They it would be easy for them to get motivated about the task that in a normal job would seem mundane or not necessary.

See yourself as self employed even if you are not. This is important whether you are aspiring to be a millionaire or not. When you work for someone else you should always treat your job as if you are self employed. When you can save them money do it. When you think of a more efficient way of operating implement it. If you see trash on the ground, pick it up. Simply acting like you are in your own business will make you think differently about every decision that is made. Sometimes an employee does not understand why certain decisions are made. If you put yourself in the owners shoes you may be able to assume why some decisions are made and do all you can to help out.

What are your strengths? One of the easiest ways to find out is to ask your closest friends and co-workers. They will tell you the truth if you ask them. Also ask them your weaknesses so you can work on them. Knowing your strengths will help you to know what area of your business you will excel in. It will also help you figure out what you do best and possibly create a company around it.

Failure happens to everyone but do not think towards failure. Do not accept failure. Simply having to close one business because it did not do well does not mean that you failed. It may simply be a stepping stone to greater things. It may be lessons that you needed to learn. Also, do all you can to succeed. Give it your all in all you do.

Develop a clear since of direction. What do you want to do? What are you good at? Where do you want to be in 1 year, 5 years, 20 years? Develop a clear since of direction. Get the fire in your belly to reach the goals you have set in place. Be determined every minute of your day to do the things that get you closer to your dreams.

Develop a hard working mentality - Whether you are employed or the employer you have to have a great work ethic. Discipline yourself to get in bed early, get some exercise and get to work early so you can be more productive. Don't allow little things like e-mail to keep you from doing your job. Make sure you have a clear definition of what is work and what is play. At work do work things only. If you have to make a daily plan and stick to it. Make a list of daily objectives and mark everyone of them off before the end of the day. Hard work is a habit. A habit only takes 21 days to form.

Get exposed to the right people - Successful people hang around successful people. Who wants to be around someone who is always complaining? Who wants to be around someone who has no dreams or goals in life. Get to know those in your life that have been successful. Those that have great personalities and it seems everything goes their way. Be around others who have dreams and goals and a clear since of direction. It is important to be around like minded people. If nothing else at least listen to those who have been successful. Buy their CD's and books. Learn all you can about how they made it. Listen to the pain of not knowing and seeing certain failures in their lives but most importantly notice their tenacity to succeed.

Be teachable! No professor ever knew it all. No leader ever lead without learning. Make sure that where ever you are in your career constantly remain teachable. God made us with two ears and one mouth for a reason. Use your ears two thirds of the time and your mouth only one third if even that much. We all know it is important when in front of a customer to listen to what they are really saying and the majority of the time when your mouth is open you are asking questions. When you are ninety five years old be teachable.

Develop the resilience to bounce back. As I mentioned earlier everyone goes through ups and downs. Just like the old football coaches use to say "Its not a bad thing to get knocked down as long as you quickly get back up." I could not have said it better myself. Develop is a key word here. Most people are not geared with such a resilience and a fire in the belly to succeed. So we must develop it through discipline. Always get up stronger than you went down.

Be prepared to climb from Peak to Peak. Ask any millionaire and they will tell you when you get to the top of a peak you will see another one just ahead. In other words when you reach a goal set another one. When you conquer a problem be assured another will Peak just over the horizon. Go from Peak to Peak and climb stronger and stronger.

Focus on continual self development - To me this seems self explanatory. I have always looked for the next challenge. When I received my bachelor it was not enough. When I received my Masters of Business Administration it was not enough. I have two sets of learning CD's in my car now. I love to read "How to win friends and influence people" or "Its not your ship" or any John Maxwell book. I am constantly learning. I love talking with my dad. He is one of the brightest guys I know and he is still learning. Every day he learns something new. Every day he teaches me so much. I love learning.

Be an unshakable Optimist - Wow this is so important. Have you ever been around someone who was so Optimistic they made you sick? That is how we have to be. We can not allow the waves around us to take our eyes off of becoming a millionaire. We have to achieve our goal and we will. When bad things come they are simply learning opportunities. Our work ethic will bring us what we deserve.

Concentrate "single-minded" - It is not possible to build a bridge with every brick all at the same time. It is not possible to build a high rise from the top to the bottom or both at the same time. Every building and every bridge starts and is built one brick at a time. Reaching your goals of becoming a millionaire will only happen one brick at a time. Make sure every day that what you are doing is helping you to build that dream. As I mentioned earlier plan your day and work the plan.

Back your plans with persistence - No general ever won a war without persistence. No football game was won without persistence. No millionaire ever worked for his or her million without persistence. Develop a reputation as a persistent warrior. When you get a rejection continue to call for the yes. When someone tells you that your dream can not come true find new friends and be persistent toward your goal.

I want to help you become a millionaire. Keep yourself motivated and know that you have what it takes. My dad always told me that if any other man can do it you can too. He is so right. Don't allow your head trash to get in the way of your potential. Work like a millionaire, be a millionaire and become a millionaire.