Most of us begin our working careers with essentially nothing. I graduated from college with $500 and a 10-year-old car, and sought employment in the middle of a major economic recession. That was more than 40 years ago. I would eventually find myself included among America’s many millionaire households. To get there, I embarked on a savings and investment regimen. But then I added to that regimen. I became an entrepreneur.
Wealth starts with income Income comes from investments. The first income most of us ever receive is in the form of a paycheck, which is the product of investments we and others have made in ourselves. Most financially successful people I know never cease to learn, investing in their abilities throughout their lives. But income, no matter how high, is not financial wealth. Financial wealth comes from having investments apart from ourselves. It comes from owning stocks, bonds, real estate, private companies, collectibles and other stores of value that can enable us to achieve a personally satisfying lifestyle without the need for a paycheck. People who achieve this, no matter their lifestyles, should consider themselves wealthy. Building wealth comes from sacrifice, because it requires that we withhold portions of our paychecks and other income to make investments …