It’s why I’m always reluctant to write about it. Recently, in a newsletter I published, several readers asked me to explain the mystery of the millionaire mindset that they say I have.
As the guy who coined the term “millionaire writing habits,” and is a millionaire (just threw up in my mouth writing that), I’ve mastered this mindset to be able to teach others about it.
But it’s bloody hard to explain.
Here’s my best attempt at defining the millionaire mindset so you can use it to be successful.
A radical definition of what money is
Let’s first address the monetary aspect of the millionaire mindset.
People who have this mindset think differently about money. They see the idea of selling their time in return for a salary as a short-term measure or a way to start one’s career.
But they’ve learned this isn’t scalable or sustainable.
It’s not about attacking jobs and employers and calling people wage slaves. It’s about understanding that selling time has limited upside, and that time is always working against you.
Every year inflation devalues currency (aka money). And every year most employers don’t raise salaries, and even if they do it’s not by more than the devaluation of government currency.
So if you sell time and work for a salary then you’ll be forced to work harder over the decades for less money. It’s like a hamster wheel.
The paths out of this time dilemma come from the magic of compounding, passive income, and leverage.
- Financial assets store time. If you buy the right ones they compound how much money you have (and free time).
- Passive income lets you make money while you sleep, so if you take a day off or get sick, income still keeps rolling in.
- Leverage lets you take your personal inputs of time and energy, and compound them without extra resources. In other words, get out more than you put in — the effortless way to live.
People who have the millionaire mindset don’t argue with the laws of time and fling poo at each other. They use these laws to their advantage.
A good rule in life is to stay away from anything that makes time work against you — Shane Parrish
A focus on freedom instead of chimpanzee status
Like I said, much of the millionaire mindset has nothing to do with money.
Chasing money to become a millionaire and obtain status is what chimps do in the zoo and we’re not here for that.
The millionaire mindset is a framework or a mental model. It’s a way to think, which guides every decision you make.
The term “millionaire” in this context just means you are a free individual that does whatever they want. You get to choose the work you do and it doesn’t feel like work.
Money is a resource that helps power that freedom.
One way to think of it comes from Alex Hormozi: “The ultimate leverage is not needing something in return.”
We jump through hoops like circus animals to get money. But once the problem of money is solved then you don’t need things in return. You can do things for the hell of it and enjoy life more.
Get free, not rich.
A killer network (for hard times)
I am the dumbest millionaire you’ll ever meet.
98% of what I know came from other millionaires. All I did was copy and paste their strategies into my life. It’s cliche as hell, but get around other wealthy people to become wealthy.
It’s easy to think that’s impossible, though.
Millionaire Sahil Bloom recently answered this question. Someone said “But I can’t get into the conference because I don’t have an invite.” This is where the skill of resourcefulness comes in.
Sahil said all this person had to do was offer to take notes or write about the event and they would have got in without being a millionaire.
The bottom line is you probably won’t figure this way of life out by yourself. Get around people who’ve already figured it out. Take them out to lunch. Join their Discords. Just don’t sit there in despair.
Funnily enough, the time you’ll need this millionaire network the most is when hard times arrive — and they will because this way of life involves risks, and one of them will blow up in ya pretty face.
Network to increase net worth.
Don’t save or become a tightarse budgeter
I can tell you what the millionaire mindset 100% isn’t:
- Budgeting
- Saving money
- Minimizing expenses
If you focus on making more money, then these three devils become less relevant. You can’t minimize expenses, save, or budget your way to wealth.
The goal is to focus on income — not just one — and build multiple income streams. More money, fewer money problems.
Not worrying about judgment
The millionaire mindset could also be described in one sentence: “I don’t give a f*ck what people think.”
That’s a hard red pill for many of you to swallow. We spend our lifetime trying to avoid judgment and people pleasing our way into a corner that let’s others manipulate and exploit us.
When you stop worrying what others think, you can do big things.
No one is really paying attention to all your daily adventures and mishaps. Just build a bridge and get over it. You do you unapologetically.
An “appreciating asset” investment philosophy
Assets make or break one’s freedom.
Many of us buy what we think are assets and have our financial energy drained — cars, boats, homes to live in.
The millionaire mindset focuses on buying assets that go up in value over time, not straight down (like a BMW that crashes in price 5% as soon as you drive out of the showroom, and halves in value every 5 years).
Once you know what assets to buy the places to invest become obvious — stocks, certain artwork, gold/silver, investment properties, BTC/ETH, etc.
There’s zero pessimism
I’ve never met someone who has the millionaire mindset & is pessimistic.
Optimism is at the center of this way of life. Even if you don’t have evidence that things will work out, you simply believe that whatever outcome occurs will be the right one.
If you go bankrupt, you’ll learn valuable lessons that’ll make you millions later. If you get divorced, you’ll find someone better next time. If you get robbed, you’ll have better security as a result. If a recession hits, everything goes on discount.
Every loss is an eventual win.
Self-education instead of college education
College trains you for a job (and your odds of getting one because of a degree aren’t great).
The millionaire mindset is I’ll screw around and figure it out myself.
It’s the mindset that if we make enough small bets and experiment, then we’ll learn more than just consuming endless information and listening to professors who’ve never “done the thing.”
Self-education is reading books to solve a specific problem then immediately using the information to act.
It’s being part of paid masterminds. It’s daring to get a coach who’s ten steps ahead of you. It’s investing in actionable courses. It’s being proactive about learning instead of reactive.
Become a lifelong learner to become a high earner.
Habits backed by systems
The self-improvement world loves to get h0rny about goals, vision, and purpose. None of this is going to help you. These are mostly fantasies.
The millionaire mindset is built on a foundation of James-Clear-Habits. The difference is these habits aren’t forced.
They’re driven by obsession that feels effortless. And these habits are backed by systems to make sure they happen, and to build leverage so other people can assist later.
The results from these habits then provide data. This data then helps us make data-backed decisions to remove guesswork and woo-woo follow your destiny, child.
5 year, 10 year, and forever goals
The goals aren’t short-term either.
Millionaires don’t play the money game to get rich in 30 days. They have a long term mindset and are patient. They typically set 5 or 10 year goals. And the ones that become insanely wealthy dare to play forever games.
Don’t play lottery life games or engage in luck
Many life games are the lottery in disguise.
Here’s an example: a reader told me to submit this article to a certain publication. If I do it then I have to wait to hear back. Maybe they will choose me. Maybe they’ll give me a front-page feature. Or maybe they’ll ghost me.
This is the lottery.
I have zero control. It comes down to luck and friends in high places versus skill or true expertise. And I have to ask for permission. The millionaire mindset is where you write your own damn permission slip.
Own instead of rent
Millionaires are owners.
They own assets, businesses, real estate, the car they drive, their marketing distribution of any content they publish. They try not to rent because then the true owner can kick them out on the street for no valid reason.
The option to own is massively underrated.
Personal responsibility over excuses
Victimhood is common in the current culture war.
It’s a sexy excuse that can get you out of almost anything. At the same time you give up your power (often without realizing it).
The millionaire mindset isn’t about excuses and thinking everyone else has some magic privilege. It’s about personal responsibility, being in control, and owning your screw-ups so you can learn from them.
When you understand at a deep level that you are in control of your future, it gives a sense of freedom and peace of mind that makes you unstoppable. And that means becoming a millionaire almost becomes automatic.
An addiction to first principles
Most people fail in life because they major in minor things — Tony Robbins
The millionaire mindset is the ability to see things from a 10,000-foot view. It’s to get out of the monkey mind details and ask the question “What are we really trying to solve here?”
Society wants us to get trapped in the micro so we’re distracted from the macro issues that cause much of our pain.
Elon Musk made the framework of thinking from first principles popular. It’s the idea that you break down things into basic truths and note down what you’re sure is true. Then you “reason up” from there.
This process destroys assumptions, anecdotal evidence, biases, and half-truths or well-wishes. It’s what millionaire thinkers use to get answers and then gain momentum with deliberate action.
A deep sense that you’ll be dead someday
Death is free motivation. It’s spectacular.
At the heart of the millionaire mindset, as I said, is a quirky relationship with time (that’s uncommon). We can’t think about time without thinking about our own death.
We’re all programmed from birth to know we will die. But somehow we’re able to numb ourselves with pleasures to distract us from that fact. Millionaire thinkers have death top of mind.
They do things in life to minimize regrets and maximize the time they have before they die. They know they have an expiry date so they don’t waste their time on petty stuff. They live as if each day is their last.
Some got this philosophy from others. Others, like me, got this mindset from a near-death experience.
Once you know you’ll die one day soon, or maybe tomorrow, it changes how you think. You have a sense of urgency to act now and stop wasting your life.
Adopt the fundamentals of the millionaire mindset if you want to access the good life.
This article is for informational purposes only, it should not be considered financial, tax or legal advice. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.
