This Is the Fastest Path to Becoming a Millionaire—But It’s Also the Hardest, Says Money Expert

What comes to your mind when you hear that someone is a millionaire? I’ll take a stab at it…

You might be picturing a well-groomed oldie lounging within his bathrobe, sipping some complicated beverage in a tall glass, and viewing acres of accomplishment from his mansion’s portico. Or perhaps a fine-dressed lass walking confidently through Central Park heading to a business meeting, seeking a deal worth forty years of your income.

The “millionaire” tag is something that many have never dreamt of achieving. But what if it’s possible? What if?

I need you to envisage yourself as one. Think about all the good things you could achieve, and dream of the prospect. Believe that it’s possible to become one, and the process could be more straightforward than you’ve ever imagined.

You could be starting without cash, but don’t think it’s impossible to become wealthy. In fact, there are several practical ways to join the millionaires’ club from nothing. You can grow wealth by being a:

Regardless of the nature of your day job, this approach means you’ll never lag when it comes to saving and investing. You should constantly think about the smart, most effective channels to grow your wealth.

You can also work for an established organization and devote all your energy and time to ascending the corporate ladder until you land an extremely high-paying senior executive position.

This approach is for anyone who is doing remarkably great in their craft and pays a high premium to earn their expertise and knowledge. You’ll have to pursue formal education, like an advanced degree, to achieve this.

Finally, you can gain millionaire status by pursuing a dream, like creating your own company or becoming a successful musician, best-selling author, or reputable actor. Dreamers love what they do, and this passion reflects in their bank accounts.

Out of all these avenues, the dreamer’s path can get you rich really fast. But despite the method’s immense potential, it’s also the most challenging way to join the millionaires club. Read on to find out how and why.

This is perhaps the most complicated approach to becoming a millionaire as it requires you to pursue a dream.

Nearly 28 percent of the world’s millionaires are dreamers. On average, this group has a $7.4 million net worth, far more than what you’d find in any other group. Moreover, people who build wealth by pursuing their dream take an average of 12 years to accumulate that wealth.

The millionaires in the dreamers’ category acknowledge that following their passion and dream is among the most rewarding moves they’ve made in their lives. They enjoyed doing what they did for a living, which translated to fatter bank accounts.

Generally, the dreamers’ path is the fastest, most rewarding path to earning millionaire status. It’s also one that guarantees tremendous income potential. 

Consider 2021’s Forbes 400 list, for instance. Seven of the ten most affluent global billionaires are dreamers who gained wealth by forming their companies. This includes Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Michel Bloomberg, and Mark Zuckerberg.

However, being a dreamer is the riskiest, hardest, and most stressful approach to building wealth. At worst, it’s a day-to-day walk through hell, riddled with letdowns, challenges, rejections, disappointments, mistakes, and financial struggles.

Treading the dreamer’s path requires enormous mental and physical endurance despite its immense potential. Here are some challenges you’ll likely encounter when following your dreams:

In fact, over 50 percent of dreamers acknowledge experiencing multiple failures. Such failure can cause bankruptcy, but you must stand up, dust yourself, and get going.

Nothing comes easy. This is particularly true for anyone trying to build wealth and become a millionaire by following their dream. While the challenges are mostly unavoidable, they usually shape and prepare you for the future. So prepare to take on the hurdles.

As you’ve already realized, the dreamers’ path may not be ideal if you’re risk-averse. But the following traits and best practices will change your mentality gradually, helping you attain the life you’ve been dreaming of.

Dreamer flourishes by working for themselves and not under an employer’s or manager’s direction. Still, you can keep the job to fund your dream until you’re now ready to explore your vision and purpose full-time.

Being goal-oriented will get you there. So set long-term, annual, monthly, and daily targets. Your goal should be something you must achieve, not something you’ll try to accomplish.

As a dreamer, you must invest your efforts in becoming more competent, more robust, better, and faster than your competition. It doesn’t matter how involving your day is, create an extra 30 minutes to read, exercise, attend a seminar, network, or take classes.

Avoid spending cash or wasting time on things you don’t need. You’ll rarely encounter a dreamer eating lunch at fancy restaurants or getting a fancy car early in their career.

Successful dreamers nurture a “must do it now” mentality when getting their things done. Therefore, complete at least 70 – 80 percent of your daily tasks. While this isn’t easy for the average person, procrastination will never get you there.

It’s important to learn from failures constantly. However, you should mostly pay more attention to your successes. Typically, the most successful dreamer millionaires acknowledge keeping a “victory log” – a comprehensive list highlighting all the impressive things they’ve accomplished. 

You should revisit this list whenever you encounter a seemingly hard-to-beat hurdle. Consider your victory log the firewall that blocks doubt from holding you back.   

Being a dreamer, you must be confident in your success to stay in the game. You must also be willing to make huge sacrifices down the road for things to run smoothly. 

Therefore, the next time you see or hear a millionaire entrepreneur, author, or musician, don’t envy them for their possessions. Instead, envy their relentless persistence and emulate their most outstanding attributes.