read it and write down things to implement SECRET
Work Longer
and Harder
The harder I work, the luckier I get.
—JAMES THURBER
ALL SELF-MADE millionaires work hard, hard, hard.
They start earlier, they work harder, and they stay later. They
develop a reputation for being amongst the hardest working
people in their fields. And everybody knows it.
Practice the “40 Plus” formula. This formula says that you
work 40 hours per week for survival; everything over 40
hours is for success. If you work only 40
hours (and the average workweek today is closer to 35
hours), all you will ever do is survive. You will never get
ahead. You will never be a big financial success.
You will never be highly respected and esteemed by your
colleagues. You will always be mediocre working the basic
40-hour week.
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Wo r k L o n ge r a n d H a rd e r 23
But every hour over 40 hours is an investment in your future.
In fact, you can tell with tremendous ac-curacy where you are
going to be in five years by looking at how many hours over
40 you put in every week. There is just no substitute for long
days and hard work.
Self-made millionaires in America work an average of 59 hours
per week. Many of them work 70 or 80 hours, especially at
the start of their careers. They work an average of six days
per week, rather than five, and work longer days as well. If
you want to call a self-made millionaire, phone the office before
normal working hours and after normal working hours.
The self-made millionaire is there when the staff, the
“nine-to-fivers,” arrive and is still there when they leave.
And here’s the key: Work all the time you work.
When you work, don’t waste time. When you get in early, put
your head down and get started immediately. When people
want to talk to you, excuse yourself and say, “I have to get
back to work!”
Do not drop off your dry cleaning, phone your friends,
socialize with your coworkers, or read the newspaper. Work all
the time you work. Resolve today to develop the reputation for
being the hardest working person in your company. This will
bring you to the attention of people who can help you faster
than almost anything else you can do.
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◆
ACTION EXERCISE
Make a plan today to increase the
number of hours you work each day.
Resolve to get to the office one hour earlier and get a head
start on the
day. Work at lunchtime when others
are gone. Stay one hour later to get caught up. This
strategy alone will
double your output while adding only two hours to your
day.
◆
SUCCESS
7
SECRET
Dedicate Yourself
to Lifelong
Learning
Continuous learning is the minimum
requirement for success in any field.
—DENIS WAITLEY
YOU HAVE A virtually unlimited capacity to learn and improve
in your chosen field. You have more brains, ability, and
intelligence than you could ever use if you were to work on
developing yourself for the rest of your life. You are smarter
than you can even imagine.
There is no obstacle that you cannot overcome, no problem
you cannot solve, and no goal you cannot achieve by applying
the power of your mind to your situation.
But your mind is like a muscle. It develops only with use. Just
as you have to strain your physical 25
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The 2 1 S u cce s s S e c re t s o f S e l f - M a d e M i
l l i o n a i re s muscles to build them, you have to work
your mental muscles to build your mind as well. The good
news is that the more you learn, the more you can learn. Just
like the more you play a sport, the better you get at the sport.
The more you dedicate yourself to lifelong learning, the easier it
is for you to learn even more.
Leaders are learners. Continuous learning is the key to the 21st
century. Lifelong learning is the minimum requirement for
success in your field or in any field. Make a decision today
that you are going to become a student of your craft and that
you are going to continue learning and becoming better for the
rest of your life.
There are three keys to lifelong learning. The first key is to
read in your field for at least 30 to 60 minutes each day.
Reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body. Reading for
an hour each day will translate into about one book per week.
One book per week will translate into 50 books per year. Fifty
books per year will translate into 500 books over the next 10
years.
Since the average adult reads less than one book per year,
when you begin reading one hour per day, one book per
week, this alone will give you an incredible edge in your field.
You will become one of the smartest, most competent, and
highest paid people in your profession by simply reading one
hour each day.
The second key to lifelong learning is to listen to audio
programs in your car as you drive from place to place. The
average person sits behind the wheel in his
D e d i c a t e Yo u r s e l f t o L i fe l o n g L e a r n
i n g 27
or her car 500 to 1,000 hours per year. This is the equivalent
of 12 to 24 forty-hour weeks, or as much as three to six
months of working time that you spend in your car. This is
the equivalent of one to two full-time semesters at a university.
Turn your car into a learning machine, into a university on
wheels. Never let your car motor be run-ning without an
educational audio program playing.
Many people have become millionaires through the miracle of
audio learning. This is why audio learning is often called the
greatest breakthrough in education since the invention of the
printing press.
A third key to lifelong learning is to attend every course and
seminar you can possibly find that can help you to be better
in your field.* The combination of books, audio programs, and
seminars will enable you to save hundreds of hours and
thousands of dollars, and many years of hard work, in
achieving the level of financial success that you desire.
Make a decision today to become a lifelong learner.
You will be amazed at the effect that it has in your career.
Lifelong learning can be a major factor in your becoming a
self-made millionaire.
*To attend Brian Tracy’s exciting two-day seminar on becoming
a millionaire, see p. 81.
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l l i o n a i re s
◆
ACTION EXERCISE
Select a subject that can really help you to be more
productive and effective in your field. Set a goal to master
this subject. Make it a “do-it-to-yourself” project. Then, read
on this subject every day. Listen to audio programs on the
subject. Attend courses on the subject. Work on this project
as if your future depends on it, because it does!
◆
SUCCESS
8
SECRET
PayYourself First
A part of all you earn is yours to keep, and if you cannot
save money, the
seeds of greatness are not in you.
—W. CLEMENT STONE
RESOLVE TODAY THAT you are going to save and invest at
least 10 percent of your income throughout your working life.
Take 10 percent of your income off the top of your paycheck
each time you receive one and put it into a special account for
financial accumulation. The fact is that if you save just $100
per month throughout your working lifetime and you invest
that money in an average mutual fund that grows at 10
percent per annum, you will be worth more than one million
dollars by the time you retire. This means that anyone, even a
person earning minimum wage, if he or she starts early
enough and saves long enough, can become a millionaire over
the course of his or her working lifetime.
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The 2 1 S u cce s s S e c re t s o f S e l f - M a d e M i
l l i o n a i re s Developing the lifelong habit of saving and
invest-ing your money is not easy. It requires tremendous
determination and willpower. You have to set it as a goal, write
it down, make a plan, and work on it all the time. But once
this practice locks in and becomes automatic, your financial
success is virtually assured.
Practice frugality, frugality, frugality in all things.
Be very careful with every penny. Question every expenditure.
Delay or defer every important buying decision for at least a
week, if not a month. The longer you put off making a buying
decision, the better your decision will be and the better price
you will get at that time.
A major reason that people retire poor is because of impulse
buying. They see something they like and they buy it with very
little thought. They become victims of what is called
“Parkinson’s Law,” which says that “expenses rise to meet
income.” This means that no matter how much you earn, you
tend to spend that much and a little bit more besides. You
never get ahead and you never get out of debt.
But you don’t have to be a victim of Parkinson’s Law. If you
cannot save 10 percent of your income, start today by saving 1
percent of your income in a special savings and investment
account. Put it away at the beginning of each month, even
before you begin paying down your debts. Live on the other
99 percent of your income. As you become comfortable living
on
Pay Yo u r s e l f F i r s t 31
99 percent, raise your savings level to 2 percent of your
income, then 3 percent and 4 percent, and so on.
Within one year, you will be saving 10 percent and maybe
even 15 percent or 20 percent of your income and living
comfortably on the balance. At the same time, your savings
and investment account will start to grow. You will become
more careful about your expenditures, and your debts will
begin to be paid off.
Within a year or two, your entire financial life will be under
your control and you will be on your way to becoming a
self-made millionaire. This process has worked for everyone
who has ever tried it. Try it and see for yourself.
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l l i o n a i re s
◆
ACTION EXERCISE
Open a special account for financial accumulation today.
Make a deposit
in this account, no matter how small.
Then, look for every opportunity to
add to this account. Begin to study
money so that you understand how to
make it grow. Read books and maga-
zines by experts on the subject. Never stop saving, learning,
and growing
until you become financially inde-
pendent.