We often hear how CEOs or athletes are paid millions of dollars.
The average Chief Executive Officer salary in the United States is $796,134 as of 2022.
But it’s often much higher when we talk about larger companies where compensations
could be dozens of millions of dollars, if not hundreds.
Tim cook, for example, made over 770 million dollars in 2021 alone.
That kind of money, even entrepreneurs don't often make.
Or Nvidia’s CEO, who made a little over 561 billion dollars in a single year.
But the fact is that Only 15% of millionaires were in senior leadership roles, such as vice
president or CEO, CFO, COO, etc.
93% of millionaires said they achieved their wealth because they worked hard, not from
big salaries but rather by building something of their own.
It’s not necessarily a multi-billion dollar company but a still worth a few million dollars
at least.
But most of the advice that we often hear from people around us is mostly from people
who haven’t achieved anything themselves.
Since it’s easier to be said than done, people throw words around.
Have you heard the quote: The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are
full of doubt, while the stupid ones are full of confidence."
That’s because the more people know, the more they realize they don’;t know.
The obvious isn’t always obvious.
And since most people are either poor or live paycheque to paycheque, its makes sense why
there is so much dumb advice floating around.
So let's take a look at 5 dumb pieces of advice people often give.
If you are ready, give this video a thumbs up, and lets start with the first one.
Drop out and start your own business.
This is popular advice, and looking at it from a side, it looks so convincing.
If he could do it, what's stopping you from doing that?
In fact, when you look at anyone’s success, it looks effortless, as if these people became
such a success overnight, especially when it comes to successful athletes.
It looks as if anyone can do that.
What's stopping you?!
However, if you think about it, how many more athletes are there that worked as hard as
others but didn’t make it for one reason or another?
They got injured, didn't have enough support, or were slightly worse than their best peer.
The world is filled with athletes.
There are literally millions of them all around the globe.
However, you only knew a few of them who made it to the top.
They are known as the survivors.
The vast majority of the money made in this industry by literally by the top few.
Ronald, for example, is paid over a million dollars per Instagram post, but there are
few players who are paid that much.
Even the majority who made it to the top don’t get paid that much.
The same goes to any other aspect of life.
Under one successful startup, there is at least 9 others that tried their best but failed.
Maybe it wasn’t the right time for their idea, maybe they couldn’t get the needed
financing, or maybe something was wrong with the leadership.
So when you hear the advice that Steve Jobs dropped out of school and built the largest
company in the world, that doesn't mean that if you also drop out, you are going to end
up like him.
In fact, the data shows that, on average, people who graduated do better both financially
and personally in life than those who did not graduate.
In fact, this advice is mostly given by financially illiterate people who are struggling financially.
Any wise person who actually succeeds at anything in life will tell you that it all depends
on you, on your strengths and circumstances.
If you need to drop out to pursue your goals, then be it, but make sure you have thought
it well and you know what you are doing.
2.
we live once, so stop saving and start enjoying
This is great advice.
Living while constantly being worried about the future doesn’t make sense.
What’s the point of saving so much money when you might not see that money at all?
What if you pass away tomorrow?
What if a car hits you?
So enjoy while you can.
And if you need more in the future, you will earn it.
That sounds logical.
However, that's not how the world works.
First of all, you never know when you are going to die.
This is not something that’s often planned.
We just have to accept th e fact that sometimes, some things are outside our control.
Secondly, as you grow older, your expenses rise.
Remember when you were a teenager?
A thousand dollars back then seemed like a fortune, but today as an adult, it doesn't
even cover your rent.
Tomorrow, as you get elder, whatever money you earn today will not be enough.
That’s normal since your needs and wants to grow so does your spending.
So if you live with that mindset, soon, you will find yourself struggling from paycheque
to paycheque.
But then it will be too late to do something, especially if you are going to have a family
and kids.
61 percent of Americans are back to living paycheck to paycheck after Unrelenting inflation
that's is driving up costs.
So while it makes sense to enjoy the present, you should always keep a sharp eye on the
future, especially the financial side of it.
Always save and always invest if you don’t need that extra income now.
3.
Renting is a waste of money I can't stop meeting people who time to time,
try to convince me that renting is an absolute waste of money.
It's like burning money.
You are paying someone else's mortgage.
Why would you waste a fortune on rent when you can take a mortgage and end up with a
house even if that means you have to wait 30 years.
To be honest, this is dumb logic, even if we assume that buying a house is cheaper in
the long run.
When you rent, you are not throwing away money.
You are getting something in return.
When you get an Uber, you don't get the car.
You don't get the driver.
You are not getting the company either.
You are just getting a service.
The uber is going to take you from point A to point B, which is the whole purpose of
a car, so does when you rent a house.
The point of the house isn't to own it but to have a roof over your head, so when you
rent, you are getting a place to stay.
But you always need a place to stay, that's why most people still assume that renting
is a waste of money, especially when you have the option to buy a house for the exact same
money.
And that's where the misconception starts.
Most people do not compare all the cost that comes with buying a house and only take into
account the usual price tag and compare it directly to renting.
I am not discoursing anyone from buying a house, but it isn’t always the best option
considering that sometimes the market is at its peak, other times, it might suit your
circumstances.
4.
Having a routine makes your life boring I have heard this a million times, especially
back in college.
I would never stay late with friends, almost always back before midnight to be able to
wake up at the same time every single day and start my morning routine.
My friends used to say that my life is boring because I stick to the same routine all the
time.
However, the truth is that a routine is the only way to financial independence.
A routine is the only way to achieve something in life.
Everything that I have achieved is because I was disciplined enough to push myself to
move closer to my goal one step closer every single day.
In fact, when you don’t have a routine, you are constantly distracted.
Your life might seem to you like it's more interesting, but the truth is that a few years
down the road, you will find yourself asking a simple question - why did time fly so fast
that I haven’t achieved any of my goals?
5.
Keep trying.
You will eventually make it.
I hate giving up.
Imagine putting so much effort into something only to find out that you have failed.
They say that successful people never give up.
They keep trying until they make it.
But that's not how the world works.
If you tried and it did work, don’t keep trying, but rather keep adjusting your strategy
until you find what actually works, and if it still doesn't work, maybe you should do
something else.
Of course, there are successful examples of people who actually made it to the top, but
again, they are the minority.
Even if we take the most successful entrepreneur Steve Jobs.
He managed apple so terribly that the board decided to fire him.
So he tried something else and founded Pixar.
The company became so successful that it sold to Disney for 7.6 billion dollars.
That’s it for today.
Thanks for watching and see you in the next one.