GET RID OF THE MYTHS
There are a great many myths about self-made millionaires. If you want to become a self-made millionaires yourself, you must dispel these myths from your own mind. Remember, as the humorist Josh Billings once said, "It's not what a man knows that hurts him; it's what he knows that isn't true."
Many people have fixed ideas or beliefs about themselves and money that are holding them back. These ideas may be completely untrue, but they will cut off your chances of success nonetheless. You must get over them. To achieve something you've never achieved before, you will have to think in ways you have never thought before.
One myth is that you have to have a great education to become rich. Another myth is that you have to start off with a lot of money. Some people are convinced that financial success depends on getting a lucky break of some kind, like picking a hot stock in the stock market.
None of these myths are true. In fact, a survey of members of the Forbes 400, the 400 richest men and women in the United States, found that high school dropouts in the group who made it to the list were worth, on average, $300 million more than university graduates on the list.
THE REALITY PRINCIPLE
The past president of General Electric Company, Jack Welsh, was considered to be one of the best business executives in the world. He said that the most important single quality of leadership is what he calls the "reality principle." The reality principle says that you must deal with the world as it is, not as you wish it would be. You must strive to be completely honest with yourself and your situation. You must refuse to engage in self-delusion and the hope that things will work out whether or not you do anything about them.
Especially when it comes to building wealth, you must be totally honest with yourself. You cannot afford to play games with your own mind if you truly want to be wealthy. You cannot wish and hope and pray that somehow you are going to win the lottery or strike it rich as a result of luck or some remarkable external circumstance.
