Akira Morikawa: What is the greatest secret of wealth?

Friday, February 3, 2017

What is the greatest secret of wealth?

What is the greatest secret of wealth? by Nick Falcone

Answer by Nick Falcone:

In terms of acquiring wealth I would say the following 4 attributes matter more than a good job, connections, great credit, college degree, etc. Those attributes listed will definitely assist you, but I believe the following are key:

Focus: Being able to stay committed to one objective without letting distractions pull you away & keeping a main objective as a priority allows faster accomplishment of a goal.

Drive: The engine of reaching success. Keeping up a high level of energy and initiative towards reaching a set destination.

Confidence: In order to find success we must first believe in ourselves or no one else will. It is said that how we handle failures, not success is the determining factor to being successful. In order to start over you need to have confidence in yourself that this time you will succeed.

Attitude: A positive attitude is the cornerstone of success. Facing both challenges and accomplishment in stride, dealing with other people, and reaching your goals will all be determined by a positive attitude. Attitude says everything about you and the path your on in life.

The best part of those attributes being the key to success over all others (in my opinion) is that we already possess them all to one degree. They don’t cost anything to build upon, they don’t take years of study like a degree or having to meet the right people like connections. I wouldn’t ignore the first group listed, in fact I would pursue those attributes as well, but I would also keep in mind to build those 4 listed above all others as I think you will notice the results much faster.

How I came to this conclusion was from my years in construction and rehabbing homes. Many times the sub contractors would be from Mexico or Italy etc. Often having moved to the US in the last 5 or 10 years, yet often times very successful in such a limited time with no formal education, and sometimes without fluent English language skills.

A bricklayer from Italy comes to mind especially. He drove a beat up pick up truck to work, started before any other sub contractors did, and stayed later as well. He had his son help him and they worked very hard all day long. At lunch they unpacked food from home, they didn’t grab fast food like most others, and after the end of the day they quietly cleaned up and left.

Well one day I wanted a bid on a brick job for a home I was building and contacted the bricklayer above and he asked if I could drop the plans off to him over the weekend. When I did I found him living in a beautiful new home with a new Cadillac in the driveway while his work truck stayed on the street. We got to talking and I found out he’d only been in this country for 8 years and was a baker in Italy, having learned masonry here, becoming proficient at it, and starting a successful business within 2 years of arriving.

He didn’t have a degree, great connections, credit established or parents to loan him money. He did have Focus, Drive, Confidence and a Positive Attitude. These attributes showed in his work ethic, how he carried himself, and his interaction with others. He was very personable and friendly, cared about the quality of his work as if it were his own home he was working on, and how he was teaching his son. He was determined to live the American Dream and he was. If that doesn’t motivate you to become successful then I don’t know what else would. I think about all the advantages I had growing up above those people just coming into this country with very little. If I choose to be lazy and not find my personal success to live a life of my own design then what would my purpose be?