3 Common Qualities of Self-Made Millionaires

Kids often talk about what they want to be when they grow up. They say things like, “I want to play baseball.” And some talk about how they want to be self-made millionaires and what they want to buy for their mom and dad.

But then they grow older and start thinking, Oh my goodness. It’s so hard. These people that become millionaires have a rich family. They have all these fancy degrees. They’re smarter than me. They’re better than me. 

And then they play small, stay in a box, and their lives become a regular life. And they never really find out if they were capable of having the life of being a millionaire themselves.

How Common Are Self-Made Millionaires?

I'm using the word "millionaire" because many times people think for someone to become a millionaire, you have to come from a rich family, or you need to be way smarter than everybody else.

And I asked my team to pull up some numbers to find out what percentage of Americans are self-made millionaires, and self-made billionaires.

Fidelity did a study, and according to Fidelity, 86% of millionaires are self-made millionaires. Only 14% came from rich families that helped them out.

Conversations with Self-Made Millionaires

I've had many conversations with successful people, multi-millionaires and billionaires. They all look different, and have different personalities. Some are eccentric, and wear colorful socks and have big personalities. Some are very quiet. There are blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians. Some are married, and others are single. Some have degrees, and others don't. All of those things are irrelevant.When we talk about what made the person a success, very rarely is it the person saying, "I always wanted to be a millionaire." Instead, when they tell their stories, you find what they have in common.

3 Common Qualities of Self-Made Millionaires

There are three relevant qualities that you see in every single one of them:

#1: High Level of Desire

#2: Take Action

#3: Clear on Purpose

Laws of Success

This formula was written in a book called The Law of Success by Napoleon Hill: desire, action, purpose.

Let me explain to you what it means, so you can perhaps connect with it. Go back to high school. Think about the prettiest girl in high school that all the guys wanted to date. And think about the desire of all the guys that wanted to date her, and maybe go to the prom with her. The desire was what? Very high, right?

But What About Action?

But very few guys were willing to do what? Take action and ask her out. Why? Because she might reject them. And if she did, their friends may laugh at them. Fearing humiliation and embarrassment, they didn't take action. So their desire was high, but they never found out if she'd say yes, because they didn't ask.

She Would Have Said Yes

In many cases when you later see your friend and say, "Hey, I always wanted to ask you," she says, "I would have said yes!"

Action With Purpose

Some guys have desire, and also take action. They ask the girl out, but their relationship only lasts for a few months. Other guys have high desire, and they take action, and they also have a purpose - to see if that girl is wife material, someone to build a family with. That purpose is higher.

To Have a Shot at Being a Self-Made Millionaire

See, to become very successful and to have a shot at being a self-made millionaire, desire and action aren't enough. Your purpose needs to be clear as well. A lot of people have a lot of desire, and they don't have a problem working hard. I know a lot of hard-working people. But they don't really know what they want. It's like they're just running around. They focus on what they will buy if they make a lot of money. No, there has to be a clearer purpose.

When you put the three things, desire, action, and purpose, together, you can have whatever you want in life.

My Challenge to You

My challenge to you is to write down the three things (desire, action, and purpose) and rank yourself in each of those areas. How are you doing with desire? How do you rank yourself with action? And what is your clear, definite purpose on what you want out of your life? When you get clear on those things, you can have anything you want in life.

This article was originally published on PatrickBetDavid.com.