7 Steps for Earning Your First Million Dollars

Do you remember hearing your family talk about money as a child?

Growing up on welfare in New York City, I remember my family talking about getting rich. It seemed like everyone wanted to be a millionaire, but neither would admit it. They would talk about traveling the world, eating the finest food, and even gallantly arriving to the Oscars in the most luxurious clothing.

Soon enough, the conversation would come to a brief halt and the leader of the discussion would sharply castigate the dreamers, leading to an immediate silence. Within the same awkward minute, the wiser members of my family would nervously giggle, and then gasp in my direction, "Don't worry Daniel, when you go to college and get a job, you can bail us out."

Most people want to become millionaires, but like my family, they are put down because their goal is too 'unrealistic'. They're taught to conform to the patterns of former generations. The possibilities of becoming rich are soon obstructed by excuse-making, limitations, and perceived setbacks.  

However, the path to becoming a millionaire is easy once you’re able to admit it. Instead of writing off the possibilities and accepting the advice of failures, you must believe that it can happen. You must affirm to yourself and those who support you that you’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen.

1. Make promises.

In order to reach your highest goals, you need to make promises to everyone you meet. This is the single-best way to hold yourself accountable. It’s like the villager who told everyone in his village, “I’m going to catch the biggest game in town.” Not only did he challenge himself to find creative ways to hunt, but he also pushed his friends and foes to achieve more too.

In the process of becoming rich, there are many people who are willing and able to help you reach your goals. However, they can only do so if you tell them your aspirations. Go ahead and tell everyone that you’re writing a book, starting a new business, or losing weight. Let your ego work in your favor. Eventually, your promises will come to fruition if you get enough people involved.

The people that you are looking for are also looking for you.

Related: Your Brand Is Your Promise. Don't Make it Lightly.

2. Self-acceptance.

If you want to be accepted by others, you need to first accept yourself. To accept yourself, you have to acknowledge that you’ve done your best up until this point, even if you know you can do more. By accepting yourself, you’ll be able to confidently overcome fears, criticism, or rejection from others. Self-acceptance will allow you to have unprecedented breakthroughs in your life. 

In high school, I was ranked second to last in my graduating class. The last guy was actually in jail! Despite my academic failures, I began to realize that my talents will only be developed when I accepted myself. Within a matter of months, I dropped out of MBA school, moved out, and started my own business. Since then, I've never turned back. If you believe in yourself, everyone will believe in you.

If you accept yourself, everyone will accept you.

3. Own your wealth.

If you want money, you must take responsibility over your personal finances. Many people don’t want to deal with their money directly. Oftentimes, they direct their financial responsibilities to others. In one study, I found that 76% of people fail to check their bank accounts on a daily basis. Who can have more money if they don’t know what they have?

One of my clients told me of his financial despairs: "My wife takes care of the bills. I just ‘make the money’ and let her handle the finances. She always buys whatever we need for the house." Of course, this total irresponsibility is the reason why this man was failing financially. I told him about the value of discussing financial affairs with his wife. Within one year, he more than doubled his income.  

4. Dominate debt.

Billions of people are consumed in credit card and college debt. With the overwhelming pressure of debt, many people torment themselves in their own mental prisons to pay their bills each month. They often say, “I can’t wait to pay this bill off so we can pay another.” However, this thinking is erroneous and leads to misery and failure.

It’s synonymous with saying, “When I pay off the $500 car payment, I can’t wait to get to the $500 credit card!” Of course, this sounds utterly foolish, but the majority people still fall into this trap. Instead of using the excess money on debt, pay the minimum and use the money on yourself to learn how to get rich. In short, let the thoughts of wealth demolish the thoughts of debt.

Related: How I Went From $40,000 in Debt to a Millionaire by Age 30

5. Overcoming adversity.

Every time you face a setback, you must ask yourself this question: How can I turn this adversity into opportunity? Adversity is the opportunity to turn our lives around. It helps us to make positive alterations to fine-tune our approach. If we can see the opportunities in our troubles, we can become infinitely richer.

One time, I was asked to give a speech. Because I had experience with the subject, I felt quite confident. However, on the day of the speech, I failed miserably in front of my audience. As I sweated profusely, I found myself emotionally bankrupt. That day, I decided to become the best public speaker I could be. Today, I've reach millions of people to this date!

Adversity is your ticket to greatness.

6. Find your place.

If you want to become a millionaire, you must find your place. Some of the people who write me live in Third World countries, while others allow their day jobs to suck 80 hours out of their weeks. Often times, I find students who write me saying, “I just finished my first year of school and I don’t even know how I can do another 3 years!”

The best advice I ever got was from my coach, who simply said, “Find Your Place.” I learned that if I wanted to make things happen, I would have to move out of my zip code and stop letting small excuses hold me back. That same year, I found an industry that offers maximum impact, influence, and income. After learning everything I could about it, I pursued it wholeheartedly and never turned back.

7. Get personal coaching.

You can read books, watch videos, and study independently all you want, but eventually you’ll have to pay for a coach if you want monumental success. Whether you hire a life, business, or fitness coach, you must invest money in a personal coach that can take you to the next level. Customized coaching is the difference between amateurs and professionals.

Wise counsel can come from your parents and friends, but your coach offers you expertise that will give you explosive results. Often times, we find ourselves on a plateau because ‘we don’t know what we don’t know’. Thankfully, coaches will illuminate the truth, which will catapult you into rarefied airs of achievement, allowing you to create perpetual success for the rest of your life.

Summary

Reaching the million-dollar mark is a serious commitment that requires great shifts in your thinking. If you believe that you were destined to make it happen, find out everything you can about millionaires and learn from them. Take these suggestions and use them to leverage your greatest talents, skills, and abilities.