How My Friend Became A Millionaire

[kebman]

Allow me to just rip off the band aid in the first paragraph. This story is not about how you get rich quick. Though it’s certainly a story of how one man got rich a lot quicker than most! And I’m really sorry to say this, but that was through hard work and discipline from an early age... But there might still be tidbids in there to learn from, so I decided to write it down anyway. It’s not the only story I have, so allow me to start with the most “boring” one first lol. It’s not strictly a rags-to-riches story either, but it is a normal-person-to-riches story. And I have more where that came from, so let’s start!

My buddy is very smart. Yes, nearly as smart as I am lol! Most likely even sharper! So he was always best in class. But it wasn’t all smarts that got him there. He liked to hang out with me and my buddies, after all, so he couldn’t be that smart, right? But he did have one trait that set him apart from us. He was extremely regimented and disciplined. He was, in short, extremely one-sided when it came to work, and so he had no “extra-curricular” interests outside of shooting the shit with us sometimes. So he’d get up at a set time, eat the same thing for breakfast every day, go to school, study hard, and he’d only ever come out and play once all his homework was done. (Some motivation for your kids there lol.) Later on when he became a grown-up, he’d also work out at a very regimented schedule, focussing more on muscle building than regular fitness.

Meanwhile me and my buddies would have various interests, everything from having to finish that Netflix series to whatever weird timewaster we’d get into, the main difference being that he only did that after he was done with all his chores. He just shoved all that fun stuff aside to give single-minded focus on his training and career first. And it paid off.

As for his background, he came from a pretty standard middle-class income family. Sure, they lived in a house, and his father ran a pretty successful flower shop in my small town. So he wasn’t poor. But they weren’t really rich either. What he came from was pretty normal, though a step up from those living in block apartments for sure. His boys room was the basement lounge of their house, so a tad bigger then most of my friend’s rooms, but not terribly so. Think That 70’s Show. So that’s where we’d usually to play board games and such, but without the smoking.

So while he possibly wasn’t “the smartest” he certainly was “the smartest and most disciplined.” With such a single-minded focus every day, he was able to finish best-in-class in most topics, and thus also stood first-in-line for what he wanted to study at the university, and thereafter the jobs he wanted when he ended his law degree.

From there on he quickly got in a pretty strong financial lead compared to most of my buddies. His starting pay was far above average, and his raise at the end of the year was also way bigger then most of what my friends got. Remember, he graduated best in class. And so he naturally got his own apartment far earlier than most too.

This is pretty important, because having your own apartment is what gives the boost to most of those who can manage it, at least in my country. Because if you’re smart, you sell your apartment off for a profit after a time, and then upgrade to a new one, and preferably one you can restore yourself for extra profit. Some call that house flipping, but in his case he only did it once or twice. Meanwhile he would also do a bit of house-hacking and rent out the extra rooms in his apartment, usually to a buddy of ours. In fact it quickly became a hobby of his to peruse property and real estate ads. He would constantly be looking for new deals on the market, and so he was kind of a go-to guy when it came to real estate advice among our buddies.

At some point he got tired of his job, and took a year off to do other things, among them becoming the director of a sports team he was really into lol. Meanwhile he notably also started reading book upon book on investment and stock market trading. And he didn’t just read about it. He also took action and invested all his surplus money into the stock market. This had its ups and downs—at one point he lost tens of thousands—but eventually he earned way more on trading and investing than on his job. And so one sunny morning he simply walked into his boss’ office and told him that he wanted to retire. Man, for sure a dream moment for most in here!

I don’t remember if this was before or after he turned 40, but it’s pretty close. So before that time, he already had a hiatus year as a sports manager, and he still had enough left over to retire! The next thing he did was to buy a huge house in the sticks, and then he moved there to raise his family.

And then he lived happily ever after! Or did he?

What I left out are of course all the personal struggles and the relations he had on the way; hobbies, quirks and beefs that most people go through. Outside of his disciplined study and work life he had a pretty normal social life, and he was as passionate about sports as any working-class hero.

The story does not quite end there, though. Because after all, he’s not “retired-retired.” Remember that burgeoning hobby I spoke of; closely following property and apartment ads? Yeah, he has since turned this into his new job, with the exception that he’s now his own boss.

When he found out what he really wanted to do, he quickly started networking with all the local real estate magnates that he could find. As a former business lawyer he of course has the ability to stamp out iron-clad contracts for them. But more importantly, through his extra income and wealth, he now has capital that he can use to join them as partners in bigger construction projects. So while he’s “retired” now, he might still end up this country’s richest man. In other words, he’s not just wealthy, but he’s even got the influence to physically change how the streets in this country looks.

 

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