Here are some of the characteristics of successful moneymakers that can help you rise to the top.
Consider Bill Gates. When he left Harvard to develop his vision at Microsoft, he took a huge risk. But that risk wasn't entirely unfounded. Bill knew what the rest of us would later learn: personal computers would be the wave of the future if only software could be more user-friendly.
You don't have to be as far thinking as Bill Gates, but you should learn something from his decision making. Before you make a key decision, ask yourself whether you're being realistic. It's a hard thing to do, but the most successful among us are able to step outside of themselves for a moment and evaluate the situation.
The mindset that separates the men from the boys in this department is being uncomfortable with inaction. In other words, a successful guy will never sit around waiting for something to happen. He may not invest any money in a given year, but he'll always be looking and exploring. That's what made Warren Buffett such a success. His specialty is buying undervalued companies.
Buffett has been beating the pants off the S&P 500 since 1965, but it's not just luck that gets him there. As a man of action, Buffett knows how to harness his aggressive side, but he has the discipline not to go overboard.
Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate Buffett leads, has $64 billion per year in revenues, which means a lot of buying and selling. But that kind of success keeps him focused on replication. Buffett continues to pursue the stated goals of the company by sticking to his solid business plan. Deviations, even with respect to stock disbursements (the company has not had a stock split since Buffett took over), are not allowed. The theory behind that: don't fix what isn't broken.
Go the way of your passion...
If you don't love it, it's nearly impossible to get others to love it. By focusing on something that you're passionate about, you'll give yourself extra resources that can't be quantified.
Any financial undertaking is going to be hard and you're going to have to put in extra work that you couldn't have predicted. That's where the passionate man has an edge. When you're working on your passion, you don't mind the extra work. In fact, if you're really on the right track, it won't seem like work at all.
Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, took his passion for mathematics and computers, and revolutionized the database world. That might sound boring to a lot of us, but to Ellison, it was a dream come true. Maybe your passions don't have nearly as much commercial upside, but that doesn't mean they aren't worth looking at.
Sometimes following that passion means putting yourself outside the mainstream. A lot of guys shy away from this, and it's true, you can go too far. But no successful businessman could ever be described as someone who followed the crowd. Successful guys live outside the crowd so they can move the crowd. You just need to make sure you're not too far removed from the crowd.
Confidence is key to almost anything in life, whether you're running a business, selling a product, or trying to finance your idea. If you don't project confidence, you won't get very far. But it's more than just being confident that matters. Confidence allows you to surround yourself with quality people, who will push you and who you can in turn push to greater and greater heights. In other words, confidence is the building block that allows you to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
In a nutshell, that's the success story behind Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric. He didn't run a diverse financial empire by micromanaging people. Instead, Welch did what all of us should do: pick the very best people to surround ourselves with, give them a goal, and let them get things done. Welch even went so far as to find a business partner in his second wife, Suzy, with whom he cowrote the book Winning in 2005.
It's not personal; it's business. Those are words to live by, but too many guys fail because they take it personally. An investor may say no, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like you; come back to him later with another proposal.
A friend might tell you that your idea stinks; rather than get defensive, find out why he thinks your idea stinks. And never let the criticism get you down. The more success you have, the more criticism will be thrown in your direction.
Few people recall that the 1990s were lean years for Donald Trump, who was on the verge of personal bankruptcy. As a successful businessman and a celebrity in his own right, naysayers were lining up to watch him fall. Did he? Of course not. Trump buckled his belt, dumped underperforming investments, raised revenues, and put himself back on top. What he didn't do was listen to people who were clamoring to watch him fall.
Okay, so you don't have all of the traits. Few guys do. The important thing is to know where you're weak. If you're lacking in one department, be honest with yourself and build on that deficiency. Or, find a partner that you can trust who complements your strengths and weaknesses.
Remember; you are your No. 1 asset, so it pays to know yourself inside and out.
POWER & MONEY
Recommended Reading
Resources:
http://money.cnn.com
www.gaebler.com
www.checklistinvestor.com
www.fool.com
www.salon.com - Warren Buffett
http://en.wikipedia.org - Bill Gates
http://en.wikipedia.org - Larry Ellison
www.answers.com - Jack Welch
http://en.wikipedia.org - Donald Trump
http://www.askmen.com/money/investing_100/141_investing.html
POWER & MONEY
Recommended ReadingPage 1 of 2
