LinkedIn Influencer,
Dharmesh Shah, published this post originally on LinkedIn.
Money of course
isn't everything. Not by a long shot. Where your definition of success is
concerned, money may rank far down the list. Everyone’s definition of “success”
is different. Here's mine:
"Success
is making those that believed in you look brilliant."
For me,
money doesn't matter all that much, but I'll confess, it did at one time
(probably because I didn't have very much). So, let’s say money is on your
list. And let’s say, like millions of other people, that you’d like to be a
millionaire. What kinds of things should you do to increase your chances of
joining the millionaire's club?
Here are the
steps I'd suggest. They're neither fast nor easy. But, they're more likely to
work than the quick and easy path.
1. Stop
obsessing about money.
While it
sounds counterintuitive, maintaining a laser-like focus on how much you make
distracts you from doing the things that truly contribute to building and
growing wealth. So shift your perspective.
"See
money not as the primary goal but as a by-product of doing the right
things."
2. Start
tracking how many people you help, even in a very small way.
The most
successful people I know – both financially and in other ways – are shockingly
helpful. They’re incredibly good at understanding other people and helping them
achieve their goals. They know their success is ultimately based on the success
of the people around them.
So they work
hard to make other people successful: their employees, their customers, their
vendors and suppliers… because they know, if they can do that, then their own
success will surely follow.
And they
will have built a business – or a career – they can be truly proud of.
3. Stop
thinking about making a million dollars and start thinking about serving a
million people.
When you only
have a few customers and your goal is to make a lot of money, you’re incented
to find ways to wring every last dollar out of those customers.
But when you
find a way to serve a million people, many other benefits follow. The effect of
word of mouth is greatly magnified. The feedback you receive is exponentially
greater – and so are your opportunities to improve your products and services.
You get to hire more employees and benefit from their experience, their skills,
and their overall awesomeness.
Related: How
To Keep Software From Stealing Your Job (LinkedIn)
And, in
time, your business becomes something you never dreamed of – because your
customers and your employees have taken you to places you couldn’t even
imagine.
Serve a
million people – and serve them incredibly well – and the money will follow.
4. See
making money as a way to make more things.
Generally
speaking there are two types of people.
One makes
things because they want to make money; the more things they make, the more
money they make. What they make doesn’t really matter that much to them –
they’ll make anything as long as it pays.
The other
wants to make money because it allows them to make more things. They want to
improve their product. They want to extend their line. The want to create
another book, another song, another movie. They love what they make and they
see making money as a way to do even more of what they love. They dream of
building a company that makes the best things possible … and making money is
the way to fuel that dream and build that company they love.
While it is
certainly possible to find that one product that everyone wants and grow rich
by selling that product, most successful businesses evolve and grow and as they
make money, reinvest that money in a relentless pursuit of excellence.
"We
don't make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies." ~Walt
Disney
5. Do one
thing better.
Pick one
thing you're already better at than most people.Just. One. Thing. Become
maniacally focused at doing that one thing. Work. Train. Learn. Practice.
Evaluate. Refine. Be ruthlessly self-critical, not in a masochistic way but to
ensure you continue to work to improve every aspect of that one thing.
Financially
successful people do at least one thing better than just about everyone around
them. (Of course it helps if you pick something to be great at that the world
also values – and will pay for.)
Related: The
Mere Mortal's Guide To Growing A Startup (LinkedIn)
Excellence
is its own reward, but excellence also commands higher pay – and greater
respect, greater feelings of self-worth, greater fulfillment, a greater sense
of achievement… all of which make you rich in non-monetary terms.
Win-win.
6. Make a
list of the world’s ten best people at that one thing.
How did you
pick those ten? How did you determine who was the “best”? How did you measure
their “success”?
Use those
criteria to track your own progress towards becoming the best.
If you're an
author it could be Amazon rankings. If you’re a musician it could be iTunes
downloads. If you’re a programmer, it could be the number of people that use
your software. If you’re a leader it could be the number of people you train
and develop who move on to bigger and better things. If you’re an online
retailer it could be purchases per visitor, or on-time shipping, or conversion
rate…
Don’t just
admire successful people. Take a close look at what makes them successful. Then
use those criteria to help create your own measures of success. And then…
7.
Consistently track your progress.
We tend to
become what we measure, so track your progress at least once a week against your
key measures.
Maybe you’ll
measure how many people you’ve helped. Maybe you’ll measure how many customers
you’ve served. Maybe you’ll evaluate the key steps on your journey to becoming
the world’s best at one thing.
Maybe it’s a
combination of those things, and more.
8. Build
routines that ensure progress.
Never forget
that achieving a goal is based on creating routines. Say you want to write a
200-page book; that’s your goal. Your system to achieve that goal could be to
write 4 pages a day; that’s your routine. Wishing and hoping won’t get you to a
finished manuscript, but sticking faithfully to your routine ensures you reach
your goal.
Or say you
want to land 100 new customers through inbound marketing. That’s your goal;
your routine is to create new content, new videos, new podcasts, new white
papers, etc. on whatever schedule you set. Stick to that routine and meet your
deadlines and if your content is great you will land those new customers.
Wishing and
hoping won’t get you there – sticking faithfully to your routine will.
Set goals,
create routines that support those goals, and then ruthlessly track your
progress. Fix what doesn’t work. Improve and repeat what does work. Refine and
revise and adapt and work hard every day to be better than you were yesterday.
Soon you’ll
be good. Then you’ll be great. And one day you’ll be world-class.
And then,
probably without even noticing, you’ll also be a millionaire. You know, if you
like that sort of thing.
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