There are tons of ways to strike it rich and enjoy financial success in life: collecting rare and valuable items, intelligent investing (Madoff and his victims excluded), playing the stock market at just the right time, striking it big in a booming industry — oh and winning the elusive LOTTERY!
There’s never any guarantees that any one of these tricks will work, but as they say: “The first million’s the hardest!”
Many mistakenly believe that working your buns off for zillions of hours is what separates the middle class from the rich.
In fact, TIME is a major factor. And it actually favors the middle-aged more so than the hungry youngsters out there.
Not everyone will create the ultimate cash machine early in their life out of an empire formed on berries or HTML, or by creating the ultimate search engine at just the right time. Nor can anyone predict that their passion for whole foods will elevate them to instant millionaire status before they hit the prime golfing age.
What has proven to be an inevitable truth; one that all who’ve attained financial success seem to echo, is that if you stick with something long enough and have a modicum of common sense (ie., you listen to helpful advice, watch for trends, know when to hold and when to fold, etc.), that you will eventually succeed in your endeavors.
Again, this favors those who’re older, wiser, more experienced — people who have a few wrinkles on their forehead.
Whether your level of success in your middle years puts you in the millionaire’s club or not depends on who you are as an individual, timing, and of course — luck!
Buying and Holding Rare Items
This is a way to become a millionaire that holds no guarantees. However, it’s another time-tested way to acquire riches. From the model train sets collected by Ed Prenville, to rare coins, cars, kids toys, stamps, vintage wines and even now whiskey.
Luck, passion and faith in what you’re investing in all play a role in how profitable your collecting ventures will be.
Not my favorite method as I feel each are a little too niche to offer any future financial security. If this is your thing, go for it.
Investing for Financial Success
I mentioned smart investing, but sometimes it’s all about Lady Luck isn’t it? I mean, are you going to hate on a multimillionaire because they blindly invested in what seemed like a good stock at one time and then struck it rich?
Probably… But haters gonna hate! Personally, I’m not giving King Karma any reasons to keep me from being a millionaire.
Speaking of hitting it rich purely based on luck, check out this story about Ed Prenville (pictured in main image), Forty Dollar Frank and many others who smartly invested in Berkshire Hathaway back in the day. Prenville wasn’t one of those guys who bought in for $40 a share like Forty Dollar Frank. His first shares were purchased for $1,300 a piece, on a whim in the 80s when he was younger. Now he’s laughing it up in his sixties with the shares trading at over $200,000 a piece on any given day!
Time, it appears, was on his and other Berkshire investor’s side.
Playing the Stocks
I couldn’t find any stories of older folks who suddenly hit it rich from stocks in their later years. Please leave a comment if any of you can think of an example. However, playing the stocks can prove profitable at any age, but it does favor those with experience. Usually decades of experience. Few make it in this sector when they’re young. In fact, like most industries, few make it big at all.
Entering a Booming Industry at the Right Time
Lucinda Duncalfe has been there and done that. Check out her LinkedIn profile. She parlayed her past experience in logistics management and business, combined that with her passion for healthy whole foods and turned that into Real Food Works; a company that delivers wholesome meals right to your doorstep every week.
Learn more about how the business evolved here.
Lottery
Winning the lottery and maintaining that fortune also favors the middle-aged and elderly.
If you read the bylines of many of these folks who win at a later age, most have simple dreams for their found money. Dreams like buying their relatives homes, paying off theirs and their family’s debts, or donating the money to charity — now that requires a real sense of self and compassion!