Ever wonder what separates a Billionaire from Billy up the block? If you’re like me, you’ve looked at Billionaires and thought “what does this guy have that I don’t?” Maybe you’re the other type who thinks “Buffett is a genius, I wish I was as smart as he is” Either way, there’s a reason Warren is 10 digits and you’ve got whatever you do. I’m about to break it down for you.
Billionaires and regular people are really more alike than we are different. We both breathe oxygen, put our pants on one leg at a time and have the same 24 hours in our day. There’s this poster in my Crossfit box. It’s talking about 1 degree of temperature changes water from hot to boiling and with steam you can power a locomotive. The 1 degree of difference Buffett has done that you haven’t was enough to power his figurative locomotive. *He probably needs trains to haul all that money he has anyway*
If you’ve ever wondered why Buffett has billions and you don’t, here’s the top seven reasons why. The best part about this article is that after you read it, you can do all seven of the things listed below and who knows? Maybe you’re the next Warren Buffett.
He’s Done The Math: Whatever divine creator you believe in, they/it/he/she coded this planet using math. Everything on this planet aligns with numbers. From mapping the cosmos to building a billion dollar empire, math is the key ingredient. Buffett has done and continues to do the math.
While most people are budgeting their personal money and trying to figure out how to not spend it all, Buffett is different. He’s always had a knack for crunching numbers, creating plans around those numbers and following them until they fall the way he wants them to. Buffett became a millionaire by presenting correct math to would-be investors. Know your numbers.
He Takes Risks: If you read wikipedia’s entry on Warren Buffett, you’ll see his first business venture was selling coke in Omaha. Not like Jay Z coke, but coca-cola. He would go door-to-door selling coke bottles to his neighbors. Buffett took his own money, risked it on buying drinks, gum and candy, and got an ROI from it by selling it at a premium door-to-door.
Warren became used to risking his money at an extremely early age. While most kids would get a dollar and spend it on candy for themselves, Buffett would buy the candy and profit from it. Now Warren does the same thing but instead of buying bottles of coca-cola to sell, he owns 9% of the entire company.
He Started Early: Buffett became a millionaire at the age of 32. This was in 1962 when a million dollars was a lot of money. One day people will say the money you have today is a lot of money. The key is to get started early. I just read Unshakable by Tony Robbins and he pointed out that waiting 5 years to invest your money can be the difference of 7 figures in income over the long term.
Buffett didn’t wait until the time was just right to invest his money, get partners and become a billionaire. He just got started early, kept doing the work, rode the momentum and parlayed his earnings into what is now over $72 Billion dollars. You don’t earn that kind of money over night. That’s decades of growing what you have and in order to do that you must start early. It’s also never too late.
He Hires Talent: Most people know about Warren Buffett, but who most people don’t know about is a man named Charlie Munger. Buffett refers to Munger as his “partner” and he’s the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Having Charlie on his team has been one of the key moves that’s lead Warren to unmatched wealth. Munger is also a billionaire valued at $1.37 Billion.
If you’re going to be a billionaire you’re not going to be able to do it alone. You’ve got to have key players on your team. You can’t do it all alone. If you’re gonna hire key players, you might as well hire the best. You may pay more up front for the best, but the dividends on the back end pay exponentially.
He Invests Instead of Saving: Warren Buffett is an investor. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him mention putting money in a savings account. He for sure didn’t acquire all his wealth by letting the bank pay him .5% annually. He risked his money and invested in things where the math added up. Has it always worked out? NO! There’s been plenty of trying times over the decades, but saving won’t make you money, investing is the only way.
Most people are afraid to invest their money. Worst yet, a lot of people have been burned from an investment. This makes a lot of regular people gun-shy when it comes to investing their money. Buffett has had to lick his wounds from bad investments plenty of times, but that hasn’t kept him from getting right back in the game. You must overcome the fear of loss.
He’s Frugal: While I’ve never heard him give advice on saving money, I have heard him talk about how he doesn’t spend much money. He lives in a home he bought in 1957 for $31,500. He drives a car that cost less than $40,000 and he could afford to buy anything on the planet.
The lesson here is: “how you do anything is how you do everything” Buffett being so frugal and knowing how to do so, is exactly how he’s able to spot the right companies to invest in. He sees the trend, the way the CEO lives and how they blow or don’t blow money. After all, if you’re not frugal, how are you going to come up with the money to invest with?
He Invests In Himself: Not only is Buffett college educated, when he first got started, he invested in several speaking and training courses. One well known school is the Dale Carnegie public speaking course. He understood and still understands that the best investment you can make is in yourself.
Even when you take investing in stocks into consideration, he’s still investing in his self. He’s confident enough in his homework that he’s willing to put his money behind it. Are you investing in yourself? Courses? Books? Seminars? You should be, all the best do.
On the surface, the above seven items seem really easy and common sense. Below the surface we know how truly hard it is to live your life according to these seven guidelines for decades at a time. We know that if they were easy, it would mean everyone was a billionaire. Since that’s not true, we can only agree on how difficult it is to stay disciplined your entire life.
Do not be discouraged though! Remember that 1 degree I told you about in the beginning of this article? You have a choice now to start making those 1 degree changes in your life. Much like interest over decades, that one degree will compound for your benefit. And who knows? You could be the next member of the Billionaire’s Club.
