If you're a teenager in 2023,
becoming a millionaire is simple.
Yeah, right boomer, it might have been easy in your day.
I never said it was easy, but it is simple.
You just need to think a little bit differently
from everyone else.
I mean, most people use their phones as a distraction,
endlessly scrolling TikTok, killing their brain cells
and becoming a slave to the system.
This means that not only does using your phone
correctly give you an advantage,
it's actually putting others at a disadvantage.
Okay then, but how do I use it correctly?
Well, in order to cash in,
I've put together eight different tips
so that you can spot opportunities while you are young
and use the tools that you have at your disposal.
Tip one, meditation.
Only joking.
I'm not gonna make some boring video
about meditation and journaling.
Let's be real, that's not gonna make you a millionaire.
But what will is tip one,
realizing there's so much fucking money out there.
You have to really understand this, because if you don't,
the harsh reality is you're going nowhere.
You'll be one of those middle-aged people
that never made it.
You know the ones that blame everything
on everyone for their misfortune?
Oh, it's the government,
Oh, it's the blooming recession.
You've gotta face up to what's going on
instead of wasting your early years wrapped up in excuses.
But that's not you and it certainly wasn't me.
Even as a teenager, I knew that money was everywhere.
I would always see people with cash on the hip
nice cars and luxury homes.
Instead of being angry about what other people had,
I understood that there was enough wealth out there for me
and instead of hating on the rich and wealthy
I decided to learn from them.
Hanging out with my mentor, a guy called Dave Monk,
got me involved in a lot of high level conversations
and seeing how the guys with money acted were so valuable.
Believing there is so much money out there
will really help you to focus on your goals
and take responsibility for your own success.
Just think, someone owns all of these buildings
and thinking like this can also allow you
to celebrate the success of others
and learn from their achievements
rather than feeling threatened by them.
You really don't have to reinvent the wheel to get rich.
All you need to do is position yourself
somewhere money is flowing.
Just think how crypto was a huge craze in 2021
and how many people made fortunes,
not by investing in it, but by launching their own projects.
They didn't create the technology of crypto,
however, they did notice the money pumping
into the space and benefited from it.
Sadly, most people don't realize
that there's lots of money out there waiting to be claimed
and therefore, will never spot these kinds of opportunities.
Many even feel like they have to be really lucky
or come up with a completely new business idea.
In reality, it's so much more simple than that.
Successful people often just identify a business
that has worked really well in the past
and then add their own unique twist to it.
Think Uber.
I mean taxis have been around for years.
It took Uber just to make it easier
and cheaper for everyone to use them.
Everything stems back to the core belief
that money is everywhere, and once you let go
of the idea that that money is scarce, everything changes.
Tip two, don't focus on saving.
This is the opposite to what many
of these online gurus will tell you, but honestly,
most of them have made their money the slow way.
Believe it or not, I'm actually the opposite.
Even though I'm old and gray, I was a millionaire
in my twenties and I've lived a fantastic life
and I haven't deprived myself of much.
I mean, in my life, I've traveled
to almost every country on the planet,
become a pilot, was a champion race car driver,
competed for my country in world championships
and built multimillion dollar businesses.
Have I been silly with my money?
No, but I have used it strategically
and had lots of fun along the way.
When online gurus talk about investing $50 per week
from the age of 16 into the S&P 500
an average return of 7% per year
leading to you having over $1 million by the age of 65,
I think they believe this actually excites people.
Newsflash it doesn't.
But what should excite you is the free stock worth
between three and a thousand dollars that public.com
are currently giving you once you sign up
and fund your account.
I'll leave that link down below if you wanna pick that up.
Most people want to enjoy their money
while they're young, just like I did.
Don't get me wrong, of course it's very important
to start investing small amounts when you're young
and not leaving it until the last minute.
But ideally, this should be money
you don't even notice leaving your bank account
and not your lifelong plan to become a millionaire.
Investing all of your baby money into the stock market
or something you can't control
is the worst move that you can make
as it locks up all of your money
for testing out side hustles and business ideas.
Those are the real ways to make big money.
Now, having an emergency fund of six months living expenses
does take the edge off and it allows you
to take calculated risk without worrying too much.
So I'm not fully against saving.
I'm just against hoarding cash as I've never known anyone
to make a lot of money in their younger years
when they take this approach.
So the truth of this lies somewhere in the middle,
use both the fast and the slow lane.
Don't be a prolific saver that denies himself
a Starbucks coffee if that's what makes you happy.
If you put savings over small things
that make your life more enjoyable,
then you are giving your money too much power over you.
But equally, don't go splashing your cash
on pointless things and leave yourself
with nothing to invest in your future.
Pick what matters most to you
and use your money strategically.
Tip three, quit drinking.
Look, I get it.
When you are young, drinking is almost a rite of passage
but if you follow what most people do,
then you get what most people have, nothing.
As a senior guy, I can tell you from experience,
as you get older, you don't have as much energy.
Honestly, I'd give up all my money
to have a young body again, it's your greatest asset.
And if that doesn't illustrate how valuable it is,
then nothing will.
I say this because most people
waste years of their life drinking.
This makes zero sense to me as alcohol is a depressant.
Why numb your brain and your body
when it's at its peak performance?
Personally, I've never been much of a drinker.
I realized early on that having the balls to say no
gave people a lot more respect for me
and I found enjoyment in other,
much more productive hobbies like golf.
I know a lot of people will say they just want to have fun
and I get that, but first, fix the money issue.
Get as much of it as you can,
and then you can drink as much as you want.
But you'll probably find
you still want to keep growing your wealth.
Once you realize how much fun it is having money
and the freedom it gives you,
you'll unlock a whole new level to life.
Drinking is just an expensive way to distract yourself
from the bigger picture, whilst losing time
and on top of that, how can we forget the best part,
feeling terrible the next day?
What better way to hold you back from your dreams?
Once I've achieved my goals, I loosened the reigns a little
and have the odd cold beer now and then,
but rarely do I have more than one or two.
Yeah, no more than two, I fall over.
Tip four, buy a luxury watch.
You might be thinking, why do I need a luxury watch
in the 21st century when I can just
check the time on my phone?
I used to think the exact same thing.
I've never been materialistic,
which led me to overlooking watches
which now, knowing what I know, was a mistake.
There are three main things a luxury watch can do for you.
Firstly, it can spark conversations
with other successful and wealthy individuals.
This could lead to valuable networking opportunities
and potential business partnerships.
Another great way to chat with like-minded people
is joining the Free Strike it Big Discord group.
I'll leave a link in the description below.
Secondly, many luxury watches are considered
valuable assets that can appreciate over time.
If you invest in a high quality watch,
it could potentially provide a solid return on investment.
As with any investment, it's important to do your research
and choose a luxury watch that has a good chance
of appreciating in value over time.
As a general rule, steel Rolex watches
reliably hold or appreciate in value.
This includes, in particular, the GMT Master II
with its famous two colored bezel,
the Cosmograph Daytona and the ever popular Submariner.
Thirdly, they can be a great way to transport
your wealth across borders.
Now, technically, you do have to declare
that you are bringing these into a different country.
However, I bet the majority of people don't do this.
If you entered another country with a wad of cash,
then they'll probably ask you some questions.
But I'm willing to bet that if you enter the same country
with a million dollars worth of watches,
they wouldn't bat an eyelid.
Just be careful where you wear these watches
as they're also very easy to steal.
You have to learn to move in a different way.
Don't get cocky and think you're untouchable
or someone is bound to pull up on a motorbike
and take your watch from you.
Trust me, luxury watches are not something to be overlooked
and even if the price goes down, you never really lose
all of your money and the status is worth it.
Unlike Lambos.
It's also getting progressively harder
to buy a nice watch at retail price.
If I'd started investing in watches earlier,
I'd be sitting on a whole lot of equity,
so building a good relationship
with an authorized dealer while you're young,
it's what future millionaires should be doing.
Tip five, destroy your ego.
There are so many arrogant people out there
that think they know everything.
They aren't interested in learning,
even when someone more successful than them
is spelling out the correct way of doing things.
I mean, I was watching "Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares"
the other day and these restaurant owners
were in dire need of help.
Their business was failing and they called in Gordon
to turn their luck around.
He came into their restaurant and tried to do exactly that
but their egos were so big
that they couldn't take anything on board.
It's actually shocking how stubborn some people are.
Of course, be proud of what you do.
However, you need to be able to separate
pride from your ego.
Take some time to self-reflect,
really go into the depth of your weaknesses
and form a strategic plan of how to improve them.
There are thousands of YouTube videos
where experts teach you what you need to know for free.
For example, if communication is a weak spot,
then there are videos on public speaking and storytelling
that you can take full advantage of.
Now, learning high value skills
does more than just paying the bills.
They compound into every aspect
of your business and social life.
I used to find what they taught in school
to be boring and nonsensical.
With my goals and vision, it just didn't make sense
for me to waste my time learning about algebra
and other things, so I went out
and bought my own books about business.
I used all my free time to teach myself
all the basics of how to start and run a company.
I then combined everything I learned with my passion
for RC models and started my own company,
which went on to make millions
and make me the man I am today.
- Tip six, build a credit score.
If you haven't got a trust fund,
then you are gonna need to leverage good debt
in order to become a millionaire at a young age.
And without a good credit score,
that's gonna be near impossible.
I was told when I was younger, this famous saying
"Never a borrower or a lender be,"
which is completely wrong.
I have a feeling this was made up by powerful people
years ago to stop you leveraging your way to success.
Borrowing money can be one of the best ways
to elevate yourself past your born class status.
But due to my fear of debt,
I never really took advantage of it.
This is a personal regret of mine
and I wish I'd borrowed more when I was younger.
It really could have helped me
leverage my wealth much faster.
Now, this isn't for everyone
and takes a strong clear mind to manage,
but can work extremely well if done correctly.
A credit score is basically a trust
and reliability rating used by banks
to judge the risk of lending you money.
Think of it like this.
If every time your mate lends you five bucks,
and you give it back when or before you said you would,
then there's a much bigger chance that your mate's
gonna lend you a hundred dollars if you ever need it
because he can trust you.
A good credit score is priceless.
It will take years to build,
but you can lose it in just one wrong move.
By taking on debt responsibly and paying it off on time,
you can build a positive credit history
which can open up more opportunities
for credit in the future.
Now, you might be thinking, where do I even begin?
Well start small of course.
At a young age, you can't just wander into a bank
and start borrowing heaps of cash,
but you may already be paying bills
that will count towards your credit rating,
such as a phone contract in your name.
As soon as you turn 18,
make sure to grab yourself a credit card.
If that's gonna be a while,
then you could become an authorized user
on your parents' credit card.
Either route you take, remember these three simple rules.
First, make on time payments.
Paying your bills on time is the single,
most critical factor in building a good credit score.
In short, don't be late.
Second, keep your credit utilization low.
Credit utilization is simply the amount of credit
you are using compared to the amount you have available.
As a tip, when starting out, stay below 30%,
essentially don't spend it all.
Third, don't apply for too much credit.
This can be interpreted as desperation
and lower your score significantly.
Remember, less is more.
If you follow these rules,
then you'll certainly be in a good position
to start growing your wealth at a rapid rate.
Tip seven, follow the money.
In life, doing what you love won't always make you rich.
While it's important to pursue what you love and enjoy,
it's also essential to balance your passions
with practicality.
If you have a passion,
but don't think it'll pay you, flip the script.
A good example of someone doing exactly this
is Rick Shiels, who we recently interviewed
on our podcast, "Strike It Big."
His ambition was to become a professional golfer
on the PGA tour.
However, although he was very good in his youth,
and to be honest he still is to this day,
he knew he wouldn't make the cut.
Therefore, he flipped the script
and combined his natural talent for golf
with his passion for drama and technology.
This led to him starting a YouTube channel coaching others
and now he's the most subscribed golfer
in the entire world, earning millions per year.
Building on this, my son Curtis
was passionate about making videos.
He was making YouTube videos,
but realized it wasn't gonna be successful.
So he pivoted to making commercial films
for nightclubs, weddings, advertisements
and anything in between, he'd take any job.
Then he followed the money and niched down
into the business coaching space
as he enjoyed working with these clients
as those were the videos that made the most money.
He's now my business partner
in this very channel you are watching
and these videos wouldn't be possible without him.
So he's involved in something he loves, making good money,
but it's not in the way he originally intended.
Both examples here followed the money
and flipped the script to work in their favor
and you can do this too.
It's crucial to learn skills that are in demand.
Identify industries and professions that are thriving
and have a future and invest time and effort
in learning the skills that can help you
succeed in those areas.
Tip eight, become a quitter.
You need to get good at quitting or you'll never succeed.
Imagine you are at a cinema and you've paid
for your ticket and you sit down to watch the movie.
About 10 minutes in, you realize that it's absolute rubbish.
It's so boring that a two hour chat with your granddad
about his childhood dog would be more stimulating.
But instead of leaving and doing something else,
you decide to stay and watch the whole thing
because you feel like you've already paid
and you don't wanna waste your money.
This is an example of sunk cost fallacy.
The money you paid for your ticket, it's already spent
and it can't be refunded, so whether you stay
for the whole movie or leave early, the money's gone.
It will be better to cut your losses and leave early
if you're not enjoying the movie,
rather than sticking around or wasting
more time and energy on something you don't like
just because you feel like you've already invested in it.
The same thing can happen in other areas of your life.
Maybe you've invested a lot of time, money
or effort into a project that isn't working out,
but you keep going just because you feel like
you've already put so much in.
But just like the movie ticket,
the resources you've already invested are a sunk cost.
You can't get them back.
It's better to cut your losses
and move on to something else
rather than sticking around and wasting more resources
on something that just isn't working.
Let's be honest, making your first million
is never going to be easy, but it can be simple.
If you are young, use time to your advantage.
I made millions while I was young
and also built generational wealth
by investing for the long term.
Don't listen to anyone that tells you
that you have to pick one lane.
You can do both at the same time.
If you want to know some great ways to make money
with your phone as a teenager,
then I'll leave that video right up there
but don't click on it just yet.
Remember to subscribe if you want to grow your wealth.
Okay, I'll see you over there.