6 steps to get 'super rich,' from a man who went from broke to millions
According to Grant Cardone, anyone can get rich. "Regardless of your current economic condition, where you live, or what you do, you can become wealthy," he writes in "The Millionaire Booklet: How To Get Super Rich."
The self-made entrepreneur, who owns and operates four companies that do nearly $100 million in annual sales, went from broke to seven figures by following a few simple steps.
"The reality is, what I have created financially in my life is very simple, and that is why it will work for you," he writes.
Though there are no guarantees you'll start earning as much as Cardone, here are the steps he says worked for him:
Step 1: Mentally commit
Getting rich starts with your mindset — with the belief that you really can accumulate wealth.
"The biggest mistake is to think becoming a millionaire is impossible," writes Cardone. "The first thing you have to do is decide to become a millionaire, multimillionaire, or billionaire if you want. … Then you must reinforce that decision, over and over."
Step 2: Do the math
Next, crunch the numbers to see what it actually takes to reach seven-figures, or whatever your personal goal is.
"For any goal to be achievable, you must believe in its possibility as a realistic and doable goal," writes Cardone. "The way to do this is simply by doing Million Dollar Math. How many different ways can you collect one million dollars?"
If you can figure out a way to get 5,000 people to buy a $200 product, you'd have $1 million, says Cardone. Or, if 5,000 people paid you $17 a month for 12 months, that would also get you to $1 million. Of course, these examples are highly simplified, but the point still stands: "Do the math to create possibility, then create strategy," says Cardone.
Step 3: Increase your income
"Once you've done the math and realize how real it is to get super rich, you need to focus on increasing your income streams," writes Cardone. After all, self-made millionaires tend to have at least three sources of income.
"There are so many ways to increase your income today," Cardone says, from "internet sales at home writing blogs, editing for authors, releasing a podcast … and on and on." Additional streams could also be real-estate rentals, stock market investments, side businesses, or part-time jobs such as teaching a language or driving for Lyft.
Step 4: Find out who has money and spend time with them
"Ask yourself: 'Who's got my money?'" writes Cardone. "Make a list of who has your money, the money you want, and figure out what you can exchange with them. Whether you have a service, a product, or an idea, the question to ask yourself is always: 'Who's got my money?'
"You don't need to make money, you need to connect with those who've already collected money, who have money, and exchange what you have (skills and knowledge) with what they have (money)."
There's no shortage of money, he says. The key is to get in front of those who have it — investors or potential buyers — and provide them with value.
Step 5: Stay broke
No matter how much you increase your income, "stay broke," writes Cardone. "I have a policy to never, ever have money sitting around. Once I start increasing income, I immediately moved the surpluses to sacred accounts that were out of my reach and marked for future investments."
This is a way of paying yourself first: Cardone invests his money before paying anyone else. This way, he's never even tempted to spend or waste money that's sitting around.
Plus, when you're broke, you're motivated, he says: "This state of staying broke forced me to continue producing new revenue … and to keep reinforcing the actions that had already proven successful."
Step 6: Save to invest, don't save to save
"Investing money is how you will get super rich," says Cardone. "The only reason to save money is to one day invest money."
Following Cardone's steps is just the beginning. You have to "repeat and reinforce" these steps, he says, if you want to continue building wealth. But the rewards can be massive: "You can be a billionaire, deca-billionaire, or richer if you simply think bigger from the start and then hyperfocus, and repeat the steps I have laid out."