I came across a video by the YouTuber Ali Abdaal in which he discusses “The Book [He’s] Ever Read about Making Money.” One message that stuck with me was that the timescale for getting rich quickly is actually about 10 years. That should be what you have in mind, not becoming a millionaire in a year. Statistically, I’m sure it will happen to some people, but it’s probably not replicable.
Instead, think about building your business over ten years. Think about what if you had intently focused on building a successful business ten years ago, where you’d be today.
I think it’s easy to want financial success quickly, especially when you’re young, and overlook the paths that seem to take longer and/or give up on endeavors that aren’t progressing overnight like you’d hope. It’s easy to jump from one scheme to the next or just become discouraged altogether and just…work your regular 8-5, which there’s nothing wrong with. Then, years down the road, maybe you’d wish you’d started business xyz.
The thing is, the time is going to pass anyway. Why not pass the time working on something that’s a little more proven to work out in your favor. You’re probably not going to get rich overnight, but if you think about a ten-year timescale, you’re much more likely to have success.
Even then, if everything goes well, you’re going to gain more income in different phases. Maybe by year 5, you’re not rich yet, but you’re making an extra $50,000 year than you were before. That’s still pretty satisfying.
Anyway, the video was good, the book The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco sounds good. As I write this, I think I’ll watch the video again. I also used one of my Audible credits to get the book. I do think Ali Abdaal said that the book is more textbook-like, so it might be better if you read it rather than listen to it, but if you’re more likely to listen to a book than sit down and read one, listen to it.
Odd Example 