Top 6 Characteristics common to the world's billionaires
Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Bernard Arnault, Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison; quite a few names
but definitely sounds like money right?
Well, these guys easily fit into the top five richest people in the world today, each valued
at billions of dollars in net worth.
As at March 18th this year, Forbes counted a total of 2,095 billionaires.
This goes to show that even as the few mentioned take the crème of the crop, there are quite
a lot of business magnates out there.
Although we have been told that to make it rich and earn big, you should be an innovator
or business person (after all money is the tool for trade), all these rich guys do not
come from the same industry.
Just to give some examples, Jeff Bezos with a net worth of $113 billion is the founder
of Amazon, one of the world's largest retailers online.
Bill Gates, our all-time reference, with a net worth of $99.9 billion is the cofounder
of Microsoft.
Bernard Arnault 3rd on Forbes is the chairman and CEO of LVMH, the world's biggest luxury
goods company with a net worth of $91.6 billion.
Alice Walton, the richest woman, ranked No.9 at $54.4 billion is an heir to the Walmart
fortune while Qin Yinglin ranked 43 at $19.3 billion is the chairman of China's Muyuan
Foodstuff, who made his fortune as the country's largest pig breeder in the world's biggest
pork market.
As you can see all these billionaires come from different sectors and still rake in millions
in profit which makes you think, do they have any other things in common apart from the
wealth?
And what can you do to emulate them?
Well, worry no more, in today's video, I will tell you top six characteristics that the
world's billionaires share in common so that you could pick a few and hopefully use them
in your quest for riches.
#1: Vision Vision takes the first spot as the most important
trait that every rich person today has.
It is not just the ability of sight, (although that is close to the dictionary meaning),
by vision I mean the ability to visualize positive results and successful outcomes.
Anyone who cannot see the present alongside the future may not make it big because these
dreams we set become our compass that guides us along the correct path as well as power
us through the gruelling process of achieving them.
Bill Gates, one of the pioneers of the microcomputer revolution in the 70s and 80s is now a household
name but during the PC industry's infancy, the mass media paid little attention to what
was going on in the brand-new business and those like Gates who were enthralled by computers
and the possibilities they promised were unnoticed.
However, he never gave up on the dream he saw.
He articulated the vision, "A microcomputer on every desk and in every home running Microsoft
software" at a time when not many people were exposed to computers.
A vision he made and worked to realize.
And boy, didn't that turn out great?
So, no matter what your role is, if you truly wish to achieve, vision is something you will
need.
If you don't build your dream, someone else will be more than happy to employ you to build
theirs.
#2: Focus A vision will never be realized without focus.
For any activity to be carried out successfully we need to build the endurance and persistence.
This endurance takes the form of focus.
The world’s richest people hone this very skill of remaining focused on their set goals.
Focus is not just having your goal within sights, but it also involves the ability to
get rid of distractions and anything that would hinder you from meeting your objectives.
If you lack focus, then you need no fortuneteller to tell you that you’ll have to wait for
a longer time in order to be rich (except, of course, if you win the lottery).
It really chips in to keep you in check even as you deal with the unexpected situations
that will always crop up in your path towards achievement.
Let's take a quick example.
A company called FedEx founded in 1971, started shipping packages right about the time the
great recession of the 70s was starting.
During this time when the U.S. was dealing with recession, stagnation and unemployment,
the founder stayed true to the company mission by remaining focused and finding solutions
like the ad that convinced people of the necessity of the company services.
This pulled him through the quagmire as he reaped million-dollar profits by the 80s
So it's not just about having a dream, you need the focus needed to fight for your goals
wrestling them from the hands of adversary.
This is another strong trait that the rich accomplished people share.
#3: Different thought patterns Everyone born with a brain has the ability
to think.
However, you realize that a fair percentage of the population eventually simply thinks
along the stereotypical thought process of everybody else.
What is called thinking within the box, or thinking like the crowd.
Despite the norm of how everybody else does things the rich men and women in the world
seem not cut out from this cloth.
Perhaps, the perfect illustration of this would be to examine the richest men and women
in developing countries.
The richest African man today is Aliko Dangote, owner of the largest conglomerate in West
Africa.
His female counterpart, Folorunsho Alakija, is not only the richest woman in Africa but
has also been listed among the 100 most powerful women in the world.
This might not sound like much to people who are used to being in a country with more than
half of the worlds’ richest people, but their lives show just how important it is
to have thought patterns that are different from other people.
Growing their businesses and profiles to their level requires them to think things through
in so many ways, in order to overcome the harsh economic realities around them, the
limitations, and other challenges particular to developing countries.
If you must become great and rich, you must teach your brain to function outside the box;
your environment, situations, people around you, each and every single thing that limits
your mind's potential.
So what are you waiting for?
Get your head out of that box!
#4: Foresight . If you want to be rich, you must know when
and how to act, in order to strike a fortune and still keep it growing.
Strategic foresight is a structured and systematic way of using ideas about the future to anticipate
and better prepare for change.
It is about exploring different plausible futures that could arise, and the opportunities
and challenges they could present.
We then use those ideas to make better decisions and act now.
In a rapidly changing world, both opportunities and risks present themselves and requires
one to make bold decisions that mostly seem risky.
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu, the richest person in Latin America, has shown
this key aspect by buying stakes he judged undervalued exploring the real treasure opportunities
buried within.
He successfully displayed this in the 1980s when his conglomerate, Grupo Carso, acquired
the telecommunications company, Telmex; the revenues generated eventually formed the bulk
of his wealth.
So if you want to be successful you must try to develop foresight as well as the decisiveness
to go with your gut.
You cannot divorce getting rich from taking risks.
The reason?
Riches come from risks.
If you are afraid to take risks, then you have no business trying to create wealth.
The risk levels might differ, but every successful venture has its own fair amount of risk associated
with it.
#5: They build a trusted and reliable team According to Fortune.com, around 1700, new
millionaires emerge every day in America.
This number is equivalent to more than half-a-million yearly, and it means every two years, more
than one million people become millionaires.
But think of it.
We usually say that there are self-made millionaires, but is that true in literal terms?
Do self-made millionaires really hit the million mark without help (paid or free) from anyone?
Well, if you ask me that's highly unlikely.
There is no self-made millionaire who did not have help from people around.
Arnold Schwarzenegger likes to tell people that he had help all through his life –from
teachers, coaches, mentors, the friendly neighbour, and family- he had help at every stage of
his life.
The way and the manner in which help comes might differ, but it is always there.
Millionaires around the world always develop a team of experts that they trust and rely
on to keep their interests afloat and soaring.
These teams would be responsible for a range of jobs that ensure quality service and product
delivery.
This not only reduces the workload on the business owner, but it also gives them the
chance to raise others –contributing their own quota towards the development of the industry,
and helping these workers make a living for themselves.
#6: They have a growth mindset Most people think that education begins and
ends within a formal setting, but this is scarcely close to the truth.
Formal education is just but a part of the knowledge we need, and in fact, we have seen
people go through life successfully without getting educated formally.
This is not to disvalue formal education, I'm not saying you drop out of college, but
fact is that getting rich isn't directly tied to your school degree.
And here is where growth mindset comes in.
In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through
dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point.
This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.
Yes, you can, of course, go on to be a millionaire from the knowledge you gain at school, but
for most people, they graduate only to become salary earners and we all know that not everyone
can eventually become a millionaire from just their salaries (unless you're earning in 5-figures
or more ). The rich know the value of experience, and
that is why they can spend a huge amount of effort just for a seemingly tiny lesson.
It looks tiny to others, but they know how much that single knowledge could help their
finances to improve.
They learn from everything around and draw insights and lessons.
Contrary to the popular belief that they don’t need to struggle through education, successful
people are usually among the most avid learners and readers.
In addition to all that, all millionaires also have the characteristic of spending wisely.
There is no doubt that if your expenses are more than your income, you will never be rich.
The rich guys understand this, and they look for every means to keep their expenses as
low as possible.
They do this through several means, such as reducing production costs, outsourcing jobs
rather than having a full-staff on them and as they cut on their expenditure, they also
find ways to grow their wealth by investing it.
They are quite flexible and have a habit of constantly reviewing their plans and making
the necessary adjustments as dictated by the present conditions they are in.
Every rich person on earth today has had to withdraw some plans, modify others, and develop
new ones in order to achieve their goal.
In your own journey, you would have to do the same thing.
Learning to adapt to various situations and responding timely and wisely would be of great
help to your ventures.
All influential men and women who wield power in the world today possess those traits we've
just mentioned and I daresay if they didn't, they probably wouldn't be where they are now.
So If you're hoping to become rich, successful, and powerful in your lifetime, then these
are valuable lessons you should remember and implement.
It cuts you the long detour of learning them from committing your own mistakes.
Good luck and thanks for watching today’s broadcast.
See you next time.