Business Success

My father grew up in Romania and left school at the age of fourteen. His training was in the real world under the guidance of successful local merchants and businessmen. When the second world war broke out he was conscripted into the army. At the end of the war he found himself in Austria. Deciding not to go back to his homeland, he started a business. After two years, the challenge of conquering a new frontier was so strong that he migrated to Australia. Arriving with no money, no recognised nationality and not speaking the language he made Australia his new homeland. He established a string of successful businesses and became a multi-millionaire.

 

 

Like most migrants my parents worked hard and wanted to give their children a better education and life than they had enjoyed. My sister and I both went to university. She became a doctor and I a chartered accountant.

 

 

I worked with my father for over eight years before deciding to start my own business.

 

 

My father's approach to business was quite different to mine. He had an innate sense of business and very little formal training. He was guided in his decisions by his gut feel and always did what he learned to do and what he believed in. His hobbies became his businesses. He often did costings on the back of an envelope and regularly reviewed his financial position on scraps of paper. In fact, he knew better than anyone else where he stood financially at any point in time. His was not the computer world or detailed market research and analysis. He was not big on writing or reading.

 

 

What he understood exceptionally well however was that the principles of money and business are quite simple. You don't need to be smart, intelligent or educated to be rich. Ironically, what I have found is that going to school is actually a hindrance to financial success. I also discovered that to be financially successful takes very little knowledge.

 

 

My father and I are often amazed that many people who handle large sums of money such as bankers, stockbrokers, administrators and politicians are often very confused about money but pretend not to be. At a dinner party one evening I came across a very well respected stockbroker who needed an overdraft to run his family budget. He was clearly living beyond his means and at the same time was responsible for advising people internationally where to invest their money. He dealt in billions of dollars for his clients but was unable to balance his own family’s budget.

 

 

To this day my father still divides up his money every time he is paid into various accounts and continues to work because he wants to.

 

 

The more I study the subject of money and wealth, the more I discover that rich people have better habits. These habits can be learned by anybody. Some of the wealthiest people I have met have little or no education and sometimes even work in fairly ordinary jobs and businesses. Generally these people don’t flaunt their wealth and therefore their wealth is not always obvious. They always look for good deals when they buy and are not afraid to negotiate. Whenever they can they tend to buy wholesale rather that at retail prices.

 

 

The book The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko indicates that far from being a big spender the average millionaire is a 57-year-old man, married with three children, running a “dull-normal” business such as welding, pest control or paving.

 

 

Interestingly, many people on high incomes with good qualifications have few assets and large debts!

 

 

It seems crazy doesn’t it? It’s not what you’d expect. In fact, I’ve learnt that many people who appear to be wealthy are actually quite poor!

 

 

It saddens me that our education system does not educate people to the principles of making money and as a result many students choose a career or profession on the basis of what it pays rather than what they love to do. One of the keys to business and personal success is to love what you do. As I say in my book, How To Be Rich & Happy On Your Income, the secret to being rich and happy is to be passionate about what you do.

 

 

If we began educating children regarding the principles of money, within a few decades we would have financially secure people, better run governments and businesses, fewer people dependent on government handouts and charity and stronger national and international economies.

 

 

Every person has the ability to be wealthy by learning the principles of wealth and by applying them consistently, you will develop a whole new world of abundance for yourself.

 

 

About Hans Jakobi

 

Hans Jakobi is an educator, author and investor. He is the author of six best-selling books including, How To Be Rich & Happy On Your Income which is available at: www.supersecrets.com and the presenter of the Super Secrets® to Wealth do-it-yourself real estate home study course. Join Hans Jakobi’s FREE Super Secrets® Online Newsletter

 

© 2002 Hans Jakobi. All rights reserved worldwide

 

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