There’s a GREAT article by Mark Cuban over on Positively Positive right now (though, not sure what it has to do w/ staying positive? Haha…) and since a birdy told me you all wanna be a millionaire one day, I thought I’d pass along a few of the nuggets :) Though I must warn you – if you’re looking for an overnight success you might as well click away now. They have things called the lottery for that (Which I won the other day btw!! Check this out – I won ALL FOUR slots!!)
Also, for those who don’t know Mark Cuban, he’s one bad a$$ entrepreneur. Who owns the Dallas Mavericks and likes to appear in cult TV shows like Shark Tank and Entourage ;) Which is now over! Booooo… so yeah, he’s a smart dude and knows what he’s doing. We’ll start off w/ a clip of his:
There are no shortcuts. NONE. With all of this craziness in the stock and financial markets, there will be scams popping up left and right. The less money you have, the more likely someone will come at you with some scheme. The schemes will guarantee returns, use multi-level marketing, or be something crazy that is now “backed by the US Government.” Please ignore them. Always remember this: if a deal is a great deal, they aren’t going to share it with you.
That last part sucks, but it’s probably the truth ;) Though I promise to share any deals that come across MY lap with you! Haha… as long as you’re looking for coupons or money tips ;) I don’t get my hands on many biz deals all too often, and I guess now we know why! (I bet if you’re good friends w/ Cuban or any others though, they’d certainly keep you in the loop if they trusted you. But who knows.)
He also advises to “Save as much money as you possibly can. Every penny you can.” no matter what. While I agree it DOES help you get further and further along to the “rich” point, I think it’s also liable to drive you crazy. At least if you do it every single hour of every single day. There are plenty of times I spend more than I probably should – and also times I hoard my money like a mad man! – but then again I’m also not in a race to hit my first million anytime soon (which is my personal sign of “being rich” – having 1 million dollars. (I know I know, “a million isn’t a lot these days” but this is my dream so you leave me a lone ;))). I’m sure I’d get there a handful of years sooner if I cut out all my discretionary income.
His Other 5 Main Steps to Being Rich
He also listed 5 other main steps to getting rich (though in the article he lists three “1sts” haha… guess he doesn’t believe in editing?):
- Having discipline — To save, to be patient, to do everything you need to do in order to be rich one day.
- Being a smart shopper — Learn to pass on things you don’t NEED, and invest/save in things you do. “The greatest rate of return you will ever earn is on your own personal spending,” according to Cuban.
- Having cash available — Cash is king in his eyes, and is pretty much the biggest thing he advocates. “You aren’t saving for retirement. You are saving for the moment you need cash.”
- Getting smart — Invest your time in whatever you’re passionate about, and learn learn learn! Don’t stop educating yourself in whatever hobby or industry you’re in. If you don’t know what’s going on in your ‘hood (my word, not his, haha) you won’t see the opportunities when they arise.
“It doesn’t matter what it is. Whatever your hobbies, interests, passions are—find the one you love the best and GET A JOB in the business that supports it. It could be as a clerk, a salesperson, whatever you can find. You have to start learning the business somewhere. Instead of paying to go to school somewhere, you are getting paid to learn. It may not be the perfect job, but there is no perfect path to getting rich.”
- Waiting for change — This is where all those previous steps come together and the magic happens. When an opportunity presents itself (because you know everything there is to know about your industry) and you’re prepared to jump on it. You’ve been saving up your money this whole time, being smart with it and DISCIPLINED, and now you have it available for the big chance sitting right there in front of you. Which I assume is some sort of business deal, though he doesn’t get specific.
It’s an interesting take on building wealth for sure. Concentrating on storing up cash for the second you find an opportunity. If you’ve ever read The Millionaire Next Door, or any other backgrounds on how the rich get to where they are, you will always find references to investing in, or buying up, of assets as the bulk of their financial game plan. Cuban certainly isn’t the first to recommend that. But what I like about him is that he just lays it all out there for any of us to learn from. He’s pretty feisty from what I hear, but it seems like he keeps it as real as possible without giving away *all* his secrets ;) Haha… and I really like that “cash is for when an opportunity arises” over “retirement” mentality too, as scary as it comes across.
The only thing I didn’t agree with all the way is his stance on credit cards: “If you use a credit card, you don’t want to be rich.” I’m assuming he means *irresponsibly* and not for leverage purposes (which I like to do, as well as for budgeting), but knowing him he could be just as hardcore against that as he is about get-rich-quick schemes. Though the audience reading his articles are also regular human beings, so it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to tell them to stay away from credit cards, eh?
Either way, you should check out his post if you have a chance (he also has his own blog over at Blog Maverick). I pretty much summed up the bulk of it here, but he has a way with words and motivating you better than I. Plus, you get to learn things about him like how he used to eat mustard and ketchup sandwiches before he “made it” ;) We all have to start somewhere!
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(Photo by Simon Davison)
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Good article, J. Money.
About the credit cards. I wrote an article the other day about how easy it is to charge on credit cards. When Mickey D’s started accepting credit cards the average purchase went from like $4 to $7. People just spend more when they can swipe!
Article is at http://www.bradmoorecoaching.com/2011/09/beating-credit-card-companies-4/
I agree with you J$. There is a huge difference between irresponsible use of credit cards and using credit cards period. The ‘baby and bath water’ analogy comes to mind whenever I hear this.
I love Cuban’s blog…you can tell it is straight from the horse’s mouth with typos and cursing. He is there…he has done it…he is not the random blogger telling you how to get wealthy when they themselves are no where near real wealth.
I’ve been loving Mark’s articles lately too. He is such a MANIAC! In a good way….like you :) He writes some good stuff on business insider too. Thanks for sharing the link, I’d never been on that blog before, love it.
I like his strategy. Only buy what you need, don’t waste time and money on school, work your a$$ off, avoid credit cards, and be patient. Perfect advice.
Unless someone makes a ton of money by illegal means, inheritance or questionable means, I usually have respect for their financial prowess. He makes some very good and valid points. Thanks for the article!
@Brad Moore – That’s certainly true, not doubting it ;) But there’s also a lot of GREAT perks about having credit cards too — mainly leveraging debt to your advantage *IF* you’re responsible enough.
@Corey @ 20’s Finances – Yep! All about knowing yourself, and your strengths and weaknesses :)
@Evan – Haha, Right?? It’s awesome. He actually reminds me a LOT of me when I first started, but only in the sense of just saying the $hit that’s on your mind and ignoring grammar, typos, etc etc… or structure for that matter. Now I’m too self-conscious, esp since I have to treat the site more “business” like considering it’s my full-income :) Maybe once I hit that first million I’ll go back to just throwing it all out there w/out editing. Save a butt load of time too, haha…
@Kathryn C – Yay! Glad you enjoy :) Remember how I was saying we were having all these lunches/dinners/etc while out in LA? Networking? The team behind Positively Positive was one of our get togethers :) Love them!! And you for taking the time to hang w/ us too :) Let’s do again soon!
@Martilyo – Haha, I can get down with that.
Thanks for the summary of this post, I especially liked the part about always learning and keeping in touch with what you are passionate about. After all, being rich shouldn’t be the end aim; if you don’t have passion or interest in something that you have fostered, being rich means very little!
Ever since I read his famous post that the stock market was for suckers, I’ve been a fan of his. I really like how he compares the stock market to a Ponzi scheme.
Well, the guy did build a huge business that he sold for a fortune. His key points are not much different than what you’d find in any financial articles, but his perspective is a good one, thanks for sharing.
It all makes sense, in one way or another. There is no way that I could just save, save, save—I’d go nuts. With my luck, I’d be saving for years and passing up all sorts of fun stuff and then die. I’d much rather strike a nice balance to saving and enjoying life now.
The 5 steps are quite good. All those steps get progressively more difficult. #4 learning all you can about an industry is tough! #5 get lucky and recognize an opportunity may never come at all.
I think telling people to stay away from credit card is a good thing. Most people misuse them anyway.
Love how practical Cuban is. Thanks for sharing.
@Matt Jabs – Well, not too sure about the college one (that only works for a minority of people in my opinion) but yeah, the rest is pretty solid :)
@SmartAssetTeam – Yep, and you can’t get really rich (normally) by not learning and understanding your biz!
@StackingCash – Haha, I haven’t read that one yet, but he is pretty hardcore I’ll admit ;) I’m still a fan of the markets, but one day I may be convinced.
@Kris @Debt-Tips – For sure — it’s hard to doubt a man that’s DOING IT, ya know? No matter how crazy people might think he is… he’s got the proof to back it up!
@Jen @ Master the Art of Saving – I’d rather you strike a balance than die too! We all love ya here :)
@retirebyforty – Yeah, no one said getting rich was easy ;) But it’s a lot easier to reach the goal by following certain guidelines like that. I think #5 comes true a lot more times than people realize. Gotta keep those eyes open and sometimes poke around so ya don’t let things slide by ya!
@Jenna, Adaptu Community Manager – Glad you liked :)
Waiting until you need the cash! I love that quote! Be nimble and ready to snap up the next deal as it comes long. Great post!
Wish I came up with it myself, haha…
I never quite know what to think about Mark Cuban, but this post is certainly thought provoking. I have to agree with what you say on credit cards. Yes, they may make it easier to buy things, but if you can be responsible with them, they have their advantages. I am paying for everyone’s holiday gifts this year from all of my accumulated credit cards rewards points. Sweet!
Nice! That’s quite the plan, I love it :)