How Many People Got Rich by ...

[kubbaaa]

I recently started to wonder how many of people who are millionaires, billionaires, those who influenced our world the most, achieved it by reading all these self-help, "success" books, going to business seminars?
I wonder if they achieved it by forcing themselves to think positively, by affirmations, by changing their beliefs about money etc?
​

At the beginning, I thought it is necessary to do these things in order to get rich but as I read some biographies of the most successful people I started to have doubts.

For instance, Jobs used to read the same book every year and it wasn't even business-related book. He did not go to the business seminars.
Can you imagine Elon Musk reading self-help or motivational book?

I think that they simply understand the business (the same like you can understand math - explained in the paragraph below), they know how it works. They feel it inside, what they should do and simply do it. They are self-reliant.

Example from my life:

I'm in a 2'nd class in one of the best high schools in my country, in math class.
At home, I do nothing related to math, I don't do homework etc and despite this, I get the best grades while 50% of my class get the worst (I do not want to brag about how smart I am, whatever and I hope you get the point).
I do not need to do homework at home because I simply understand it. I know that if I want x, I should do y; if I have z and want c, I need to do q.
You can compare it to anything that you are best in.​

Do you fell the same with business? What do you think about it?
@MJ DeMarco Would you like to share with us your opinion?

Please excuse me all mistakes that I did because I'm very ill now and my brain barely works haha
I suppose it could be a little bit better structured but I write it straight from my heart and head.

 

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[kubbaaa]

My heart tells me that:

I should not

• eg spend time, even a few minutes per day, on the forum, on the group on FB related to making websites
• find new books to read
• go to business seminars
• do not spend time on things like manipulation because it is against my life philosophy - "make the other person feel important"

"It simply does not make sense"

And I should

• spend more time in books that I already read and are most valuable for me (2-3)
  
• just do sth and seek for information only when it will be needed
  
• just rely on my own self-development plan that I made myself that gives me awesome results

My brain tells me that

• there is a possibility that "something you may read in this book/thread may change your life"
  
• "do you really think that you are smarter that the author of the book?"
• "it is stupid to separate yourself from all those people, books”

But I think my heart will win…

Why?
I will answer by asking a few questions...

Do you remember posts, videos, posts on facebook (business groups) that you read yesterday?
Nice.

What about those you read a month ago?
Did they change they way you do sth now?
If no, I suppose it was simply waste of time.

How many books did you read vs how many things you applied to your life?

 

[wade1mil]

Can you imagine Elon Musk reading self-help or motivational book?

He reads a lot of biographies which motivate him.

Knowledge is worthless not put into use.

 

[SteveO]

It is definitely related to some type of trait. It could be math ability, ability to see big picture, ability to piece together a puzzle, desire, dedication, conceptualization, something in a dream...... luck.....

There are many different factors that go into this. Some people will start with no prodding. Others may need to have their eyes opened. MJ's material is a great example of this.

I agree with you on the motivational and business seminar routes though.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

I recently started to wonder how many of people who are millionaires, billionaires, those who influenced our world the most, achieved it by reading all these self-help, "success" books, going to business seminars?
I wonder if they achieved it by forcing themselves to think positively, by affirmations, by changing their beliefs about money etc?
​

At the beginning, I thought it is necessary to do these things in order to get rich but as I read some biographies of the most successful people I started to have doubts.

For instance, Jobs used to read the same book every year and it wasn't even business-related book. He did not go to the business seminars.
Can you imagine Elon Musk reading self-help or motivational book?

I think that they simply understand the business (the same like you can understand math - explained in the paragraph below), they know how it works. They feel it inside, what they should do and simply do it. They are self-reliant.

Example from my life:

I'm in a 2'nd class in one of the best high schools in my country, in math class.
At home, I do nothing related to math, I don't do homework etc and despite this, I get the best grades while 50% of my class get the worst (I do not want to brag about how smart I am, whatever and I hope you get the point).
I do not need to do homework at home because I simply understand it. I know that if I want x, I should do y; if I have z and want c, I need to do q.
You can compare it to anything that you are best in.​

Do you fell the same with business? What do you think about it?
@MJ DeMarco Would you like to share with us your opinion?

Please excuse me all mistakes that I did because I'm very ill now and my brain barely works haha

Here are some thoughts:

• Can I imagine Elon Musk reading a self-help book. Yes. He's probably read a thousand of them.
• Understanding how a business works and building multi-billion dollar businesses are very different things.
• You understand math at an above average level compared to your peers, but what about compared to Einstein?
• Elon Musk doesn't do the "math" work in his business. He hires smart employees to do that stuff.

What you're saying makes it seem like business success must then be determined by personality predispositions. I don't entirely disagree and I do think some personalities are better suited for business than others. But ongoing learning is still a part of that process.

You'll make your own path in the end. You can follow your heart. There's no way to know if it's the right or wrong choice. If we say it's wrong and you make it happen, then I guess it worked out for you. If we say it's right and it doesn't work out, then that's just how things are.

From your second post it looks like you're not saying not to read, but perhaps not to read junk. I agree with that. There are seminars that suck. There are seminars that are valuable. There are books that suck and there are books with value. Ultimately, you have to use what works for you.

There's multiple paths to reach your destination.

How you get there, even if it's not the mainstream path, and even if you don't necessarily end up where you originally hoped to go, is what makes your story worth telling later on (in my opinion).

 

[SteveO]

It was not a book that got me started. It was a person that had something that I wanted. I started by looking at his process. I then bought a couple of "how to" books. Once on the way, I developed and tweaked my own personal process without the help from books.

 

[Fortune5ive]

Reading a self-help book to get rich is like punching a clock to get rich. Same concept to me.

 

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[kubbaaa]

He reads a lot of biographies which motivate him.

Knowledge is worthless not put into use.

Agree, but I meant a different type of books.
"If you need inspiring words, you should not do it." by Elon

• You understand math at an above average level compared to your peers, but what about compared to Einstein?
• Elon Musk doesn't do the "math" work in his business. He hires smart employees to do that stuff.

My point was to show you an example of the feeling that I wrote about. It can be anything instead of math.

 

[corius]

It would depends on what you dowith the book. Is it one of those situations where the person just has the books and brags about how many self help books they have read once. Is it a book on money management that is just sitting under your g illow (because you will absorb the information while you sleep).

OR

Have you identified issues that are keeping you on the slowlane. Are you going to the yseminars and reading the books as tools to learn and grow.

My copy of how to win friends will make a librarian cringe. When I look at seminars I look at what I can learn.

 

[Fox]

I didn't need to read 100s of books to get to where I am now - only 3 or 4, BUT it took reading 100s to find the 3 or 4 that I did need.

To use a gym analogy...
- Do you need a fitness book to get started? No
- Does reading a fitness book mean you will get fit? No
- Can reading a fitness book and taking action get your results? Of course

Lots of people do things without needing the manual but when you are stuck it is sure nice to have one.

 

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[JAJT]

Books, seminars, forums, chat groups, masterminds, and all other forms of learning and motivation are simply individual aspects of living a certain kind of lifestyle.

There's a very clear and distinct but HIGHLY related correlation between the lifestyles we live and the things we do/achieve. This is a good argument of correlation vs causation.

If you want to get big and strong and healthy, what's involved? Lift heavy weights and eat appropriately. Those things "cause" the results. But what kinds of lifestyles do you see big, strong and healthy folks live?

- They go outside a lot
- They hang around healthy people
- They read books on nutrition
- They keep up to date on their favorite athletes
- They stock their house full of good food and eat mostly good food
- They stay positive and try to help others
- etc...

Going outside, helping others, reading books and all that stuff does not make them strong. You can argue "nobody ever got healthy by simply being outside a lot". But it's part of a lifestyle that encourages the results you want. It makes it easier to stay on point because everything in your life is a choice that reinforces how you want to live.

Likewise what do the very wealthy do a lot?

- They talk to business people
- They read a lot
- They keep up to date on business news
- They go to seminars and pay for courses and masterminds
- They spend a lot of time focusing on self improvement
- They spend a lot of time thinking about how they think and function and operate
- They often meditate and journal
- They wake up early
- They try to eat well
- They question every dollar they spend

Does waking up early and reading a lot make you rich? No. Does it make it easier to stay in a mindset that encourages wealth? Yes.

Now let's look at the average joe:

- Watches a lot of tv
- Eats like shit
- Smoking / Drinking / Drugs
- Spends a lot of money on useless shit
- Focuses on appearances
- Says "hope" and "wish" and "luck" a lot
- Plays a lot of video games
- Does things without thinking
- Makes emotional choices regularly

Does watching tv make you poor? No. Does it make it easier to avoid bettering yourself? Absolutely.

An appropriate lifestyle reduces the effort required to continue achieving your goals. It does not cause your success but it's highly related. It's all about constantly putting yourself into positions to succeed. If you are outside enjoying the fresh air, you likely don't want to eat an entire bag of chips. This makes it easier to stay fit. If you are reading about success or motivation you probably aren't too worried about the season premier of game of thrones. If you are happily self-medicating yourself with tv and video games and drugs then you probably are trying to escape life instead of improve it.

Lifestyles either make our goals easier or harder but they do not "cause" them.

Also, as a quick end note, the biggest problem a lot of people have is assuming these correlations are causation. It's the faulty logic of "rich people read so if I read I'll get rich" or "healthy people spend time outside so if I spend time outside I'll be healthy". There is usually only one or two things at a high level that you need to do to get your results - everything else is a lifestyle choice that promotes positive reinforcement.

 

[MB2]

Knoweledge go unapplied is like keeping a loaded gun in your drawer.

Using it is what counts not loading it.However, you have to load it first.WIthout loading you can't do shooting and get away from enemies and obstacles.

So, don't load it unles you really want to do the shooting part.

 

[G-Man]

Books, seminars, forums, chat groups, masterminds, and all other forms of learning and motivation are simply individual aspects of living a certain kind of lifestyle.

There's a very clear and distinct but HIGHLY related correlation between the lifestyles we live and the things we do/achieve. This is a good argument of correlation vs causation.

If you want to get big and strong and healthy, what's involved? Lift heavy weights and eat appropriately. Those things "cause" the results. But what kinds of lifestyles do you see big, strong and healthy folks live?

- They go outside a lot
- They hang around healthy people
- They read books on nutrition
- They keep up to date on their favorite athletes
- They stock their house full of good food and eat mostly good food
- They stay positive and try to help others
- etc...

Going outside, helping others, reading books and all that stuff does not make them strong. You can argue "nobody ever got healthy by simply being outside a lot". But it's part of a lifestyle that encourages the results you want. It makes it easier to stay on point because everything in your life is a choice that reinforces how you want to live.

Likewise what do the very wealthy do a lot?

- They talk to business people
- They read a lot
- They keep up to date on business news
- They go to seminars and pay for courses and masterminds
- They spend a lot of time focusing on self improvement
- They spend a lot of time thinking about how they think and function and operate
- They often meditate and journal
- They wake up early
- They try to eat well
- They question every dollar they spend

Does waking up early and reading a lot make you rich? No. Does it make it easier to stay in a mindset that encourages wealth? Yes.

Now let's look at the average joe:

- Watches a lot of tv
- Eats like shit
- Smoking / Drinking / Drugs
- Spends a lot of money on useless shit
- Focuses on appearances
- Says "hope" and "wish" and "luck" a lot
- Plays a lot of video games
- Does things without thinking
- Makes emotional choices regularly

Does watching tv make you poor? No. Does it make it easier to avoid bettering yourself? Absolutely.

An appropriate lifestyle reduces the effort required to continue achieving your goals. It does not cause your success but it's highly related. It's all about constantly putting yourself into positions to succeed. If you are outside enjoying the fresh air, you likely don't want to eat an entire bag of chips. This makes it easier to stay fit. If you are reading about success or motivation you probably aren't too worried about the season premier of game of thrones. If you are happily self-medicating yourself with tv and video games and drugs then you probably are trying to escape life instead of improve it.

Lifestyles either make our goals easier or harder but they do not "cause" them.

Also, as a quick end note, the biggest problem a lot of people have is assuming these correlations are causation. It's the faulty logic of "rich people read so if I read I'll get rich" or "healthy people spend time outside so if I spend time outside I'll be healthy". There is usually only one or two things at a high level that you need to do to get your results - everything else is a lifestyle choice that promotes positive reinforcement.

Fantastic reminder as always. Rep+++

I really need to get healthier friends.... and stop self-medicating with Netflix.....

 

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[Roli]

For instance, Jobs used to read the same book every year and it wasn't even business-related book. He did not go to the business seminars.​

.

Hmm, I heard Jobs met Wozniak at an HP business seminar... let's face it there's a lot of BS written about these people. Everyone goes on about how this billionaire or that didn't go to college or did this or that. The point is there is process behind it all, and for the likes of me and a lot of people, it helps to learn about the process, and then try and put it into action.

The danger comes when we confuse reading these books as the action itself.

 

[juan917]

Having the mindset of thinking it's possible to be rich is the first step. The books are there for the first step and show you a path but you have to be the one to walk through the door

 

[EvanOkanagan]

(Pardon my Fast n' Furious reference)

"Self-help" or motivational books are like a shot of NOS in my opinion... If you're just sitting, idling it will usually have little to no effect. If you're an action-taker, get shit done and are already picking up speed they can help give you a boost to where you're trying to go.

The times where I feel I'm at a plateau in business or just need some alternate way of thinking, I'll often read an inspiring/motivational book or seminar and the mindset shift will usually propel me in a good direction.

Again, it's all about who applies it. A go-getter could take the same information and make a million dollars out of it, whereas someone else reads the same book and sees nothing from it.

 

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[kubbaaa]

Hmm, I heard Jobs met Wozniak at an HP business seminar... let's face it there's a lot of BS written about these people. Everyone goes on about how this billionaire or that didn't go to college or did this or that. The point is there is process behind it all, and for the likes of me and a lot of people, it helps to learn about the process, and then try and put it into action.

The danger comes when we confuse reading these books as the action itself.

They were neighbors, but is is not important.

It seems to me that you understood me wrong.

I'm not saying that reading books is worth nothing. Truth be told, they changed me a lot and now I'm taking the course to read 1000 words per minute. I'm just asking how big role they played in the life of the most successful people.

There must be some reasons why some work 9-5, other struggle with unprofitable businesses, some are millionaires and few people change the world on a big scale

 

[Vigilante]

The Reading Habits of Ultra-Successful People | The Huffington Post

 

[MJ DeMarco]

When I was struggling, books meant everything to me. Back then we didn't have the internet or access to successful people. Yea, you couldn't just logon to a forum and mingle with the accomplished. Moreover, you couldn't tell the accomplished that your idea for the 3,000th fitness app that does the same thing as the other 2999, is no good.

So books became my mentor.

Would you like to share with us your opinion?

Curious, if someone gave you a map to buried treasure, does the map itself make you rich?

If the map sits on your desk, at what point does it make you rich? While you're sleeping? At your job?

Or must you do something with the map?

 

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[Andy Black]

www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/the-rarest-reddit-find-of-all-actual-gold-legendary-comic.56761

 

[Shades]

I think many of us, myself included, massively overthink this entire entrepreneur thing.

 

[458]

There are only two to three books that i have read that had good tips and knowledge end to end and i continue to go back and reread. The rest are time wasters because of the amount of fluff you have to go through to get to the good stuff, if any... After that it's what you do with the knowledge.

 

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[Frankie Relax]

I already expressed my opinion here: Fastlane - Reading is slowlane

Well, to recap:
- selling books, seminars, manage fb groups, etc. is a producer mindset.
- buying books, seminars, etc. is a consumer mindset.

This is what TMF has taught me.
If I publish books, sell webinars and seminars, the chances to become rich are more than if I buy them. No doubt about. It's simple.

 

[Roli]

They were neighbors, but is is not important.

It seems to me that you understood me wrong.

I'm not saying that reading books is worth nothing. Truth be told, they changed me a lot and now I'm taking the course to read 1000 words per minute. I'm just asking how big role they played in the life of the most successful people.

There must be some reasons why some work 9-5, other struggle with unprofitable businesses, some are millionaires and few people change the world on a big scale

No, I got what you meant. I was just making the point that we tend to edit out the boring bits when it comes to success. However you make an interesting point. Why do some people work 9-5, others struggle and some are millionaires, etc.

I think it all comes down to self efficacy and a growth mindset. If you are surrounded by people who are "doing it" and you are instilled with the mindset that anything can be learned, then you are much more likely to be successful. Whether that leads to a world changing event is down to timing and other unseen or perhaps unknown factors.

I had/have plans to change the world; however at 18 I didn't have the self efficacy to believe that I could do. Instead I just saw a life I didn't want to lead, rather than one I did. Fast forward 27 years and I now have the belief to go along with the will; hopefully I have enough time left. If not, I'll settle for a fastlane lifestyle and being an example of what is possible to my daughter

 

[kubbaaa]

I think many of us, myself included, massively overthink this entire entrepreneur thing.

You hit the point. I meant exactly that.

I already expressed my opinion here: Fastlane - Reading is slowlane

Well, to recap:
- selling books, seminars, manage fb groups, etc. is a producer mindset.
- buying books, seminars, etc. is a consumer mindset.

This is what TMF has taught me.
If I publish books, sell webinars and seminars, the chances to become rich are more than if I buy them. No doubt about. It's simple.

+1
I have a respect for books written by someone who has great experience in what he writes about but there are many "big books" written by medium people.

 

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[Fortune5ive]

I think many of us, myself included, massively overthink this entire entrepreneur thing.

Precisely. Solution is always simple.

 

[TheDillon__]

So here's my two cents from someone who's written one of these books.

All throughout my book, I do my absolute best to punctuate that a book alone does not guarantee success!

Think about it. All a book has ever been and can ever be is words on paper or words on a screen. That's the extent of it.

MJ's book does not create millionaires.

Reading "Rawsome Vegan Baking" does not cause chocolate chip cookies to appear.

Reading the Bible, the Qur'an, Baha'u'llah and the New Era, hell, Dianetics doesn't make someone holy and pure.

In all of these cases - a book simply works as a guideline A book exists simply to provide perspective, a shift in mindset, a new philosophy, a recipe.

It's the responsibility of the reader to make full use of their new knowledge and,

above all,

on what they just learned!

 

[DarrenW]

Like the saying goes...

"You read one self-help book, and you read them all"

I think there's a time when you should stop reading, and instead start studying a specific skill/niche.

For me, I stopped reading self-help/motivational/mindset type books. And began studying, rereading, taking lots of notes, and applying the information from 2 great books.

These books were what made me the most money. Both of which are copywriting books.

I wouldn't be able to say the same with any self-help book I read.

I only see self-help as good beginner books.

But again, you only need to read one to read them all.

And of course like everyone else said, action triumphs everything.

 

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[Dylan_91]

I recently started to wonder how many of people who are millionaires, billionaires, those who influenced our world the most, achieved it by reading all these self-help, "success" books, going to business seminars?
I wonder if they achieved it by forcing themselves to think positively, by affirmations, by changing their beliefs about money etc?
​

At the beginning, I thought it is necessary to do these things in order to get rich but as I read some biographies of the most successful people I started to have doubts.

For instance, Jobs used to read the same book every year and it wasn't even business-related book. He did not go to the business seminars.
Can you imagine Elon Musk reading self-help or motivational book?

I think that they simply understand the business (the same like you can understand math - explained in the paragraph below), they know how it works. They feel it inside, what they should do and simply do it. They are self-reliant.

I think it's that some people we're taught early, came from families in business or a sector that someone excels in. Some people may learn from experience and others may learn from the experience of others. In your case, math may come easier to you, or maybe you busted away hours when others would only try a little at math. Maybe that's why you're 2nd best in your class. Do you think it would be insane to see a younger or even modern day Elon Musk reading about things that brought him knowledge for his passion, saw a vision and implemented on it. Maybe he realized his deficiencies and realized that someone else had those strengths, so he looked there. Who knows if he did or did not read excerpts from old money, who built their businesses during the industrial age in America and maybe it sparked interest on how to better achieve his goals? We all have our strengths and weaknesses.

I don't disagree with "motivational" books being worthless for a large portion of people because they dabble into it and may not be all in on it. I don't doubt that at times people can lose a little motivation and maybe that "motivational" book puts them into the right perspective where they realize they are willing to go ALL in and they actually continue. The stigma is that it creates a day or a month of excitement and then it withers away, but there are success stories that may have learned even a little from that "Hey make 6 figures each month today!" book, even though it may be worthless to many.

For example, myself, I grew up in a single family home with my mother and sister. There was no business role model, all I knew was money is so important at a super young age. I began to hoard it, I would sell books for 25 cents, I'd start a lemonade stand to make money. But I had no clue what I was doing rather than I wanted to help my family. This in turn made me feel that business was always something I want to be in. Unfortunately for me it was seeing my family struggle, it was more of a desperation beginning than it was learning from someone who was DOING what I wanted to do. Those hardships made it turn into a passion, it was enjoyable to see my 6 year old a$$ giving something to the world. I had to find it through others, through books, and the like. That's why I'm here on this forum today, to learn and to eventually teach.

Overall, I agree with you, some people have natural abilities that were learned from early days in childhood or were learned later on in life.

 

[GuitarManDan]

I still have a very very long way to go on my journey, but my initial inspiration came from an interaction with a friend about how she worked her a$$ off for years to build up a web design business and now she enjoys the fruits of her labor with very few hours worked to receive a great salary (compared to the average slowlaner or sidewalker in NYC).

Although that was my initial inspiration, it wasn't until I started really reading like crazy that I was able to turn that initial passion into actual knowledge. More importantly, it led me to seek out a place like these forums that have an extremely positive and inspirational message with real-life applications.

Moral of my rambling is that I believe, as long as you aren't using reading as a crutch to pretend like you're doing something, then it can be extremely useful to determine what you want to do and how you're going to execute that plan.