The fastest but hardest way to get rich

 The fastest but hardest way to get rich

Pursuing your passion can make you successful and rich, but the price is not small.

Why is financial success so hard to come by? Do the rich do something special differently from us? Is there a formula for accumulating large amounts of wealth?

Tom Corley is the author of "The Successful Habits of Self-Made Millionaires" (Rich Habits). He spent 5 years observing and recording the daily habits of 233 rich people (annual income of at least $160,000 and net worth of at least $3.2 million). He realized there are four basic paths to becoming a millionaire.

- Saving - Invest: No matter what their day job, people in this group keep the habit of saving and investing. They are always thinking of the smartest ways to increase their wealth.

- Advancement at work: This group works for large companies and devotes all their time and energy to promotion to senior management, of course with extremely high salaries.

- Experts: This group is among the best in their field, for example in the field of medicine or law. They are well-paid, but must have advanced degrees.

Pursuing their passions: People in this group pursue their passions such as starting a business, becoming a famous actor, famous musician or authoring a book. They love their job, and it also makes them a lot of money.

Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg are billionaires who got rich by pursuing their passions. Photo: India Times

Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg are billionaires who got rich by pursuing their passions. Photo: India Times

About 28% of the individuals in Corley's study were in this group. They have an average fortune of $7.4 million and accumulated that fortune in just about 12 years.

He thinks this is the fastest, but also the hardest way to get rich. Good examples for this group are the richest billionaires in the world, like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg. One person in this group once told him, "At the worst times, it's like walking into hell, full of roadblocks, failures, mistakes, rejections and financial hardships."

What makes this road so difficult?

To get rich from passion, you need enormous stamina both mentally and physically. Here are the reasons:

Long working hours: People in Corley's study worked 65-67 hours per week to achieve their dreams. Weekend breaks and travel are almost non-existent. This, of course, affects all of their relationships. Family and friends are the most disadvantaged group.

- Life under pressure: Until your dreams come true, you may face financial difficulties, especially without a supportive family. In the beginning, it was almost impossible to earn a steady income. Some of the people in Corley's study even had to resort to savings.

- High risk: by nature, the passionate group is the daredevils. They are willing to bet everything they have, from houses, cars to savings, although there is no guarantee of success. In fact, more than half of the people in this group told Corley that they had failed many times already. That failure often leads to bankruptcy.

Loss of motivation: Because this group is a group of people with extremely ambitious, even near-impossible goals, they are often advised by others to stop. They also often have to hear the word "no". Some told Corley that they had repeatedly thought about giving up.

Do you possess the required qualities?

If you are a risk-taker, this approach may not be suitable. But if you possess the following traits and habits, you can be successful.

Dislikes working for others: People who follow their passion prefer to work for themselves rather than for their boss. They hate being ordered around and want to do things their way.

- Goal-oriented: You always set goals for the day, month, year and long-term goals. For them, the definition of a goal is "What I need to achieve" instead of "What I can achieve".

- Always improve yourself every day: Do you always strive to become healthier, smarter, faster and better than your competition? No matter how busy they are, this group always spends at least 30 minutes a day doing things like reading, exercising, attending seminars, classes, and networking.

- Have a modest lifestyle: This group does not spend money on unnecessary things. Early in their career, you'll rarely see them eat fancy food or drive expensive cars.

- Get the job done every day: They are always in the "must do" mentality every time they start work. People in this group complete at least 70% - 80% of the tasks on the list every day. This is not easy for most of us.

- Don't be depressed by failure: Despite knowing the importance of learning from failure, you tend to focus more on success. People in this group always keep a "winning list", recording the impressive things they achieve. When faced with a challenge, they revisit this list to lift their spirits.