...and some not so good ways.
We tend to assume that if we work hard and save money then one day we will end up wealthy. This is wishful thinking. We are more likely to end up with some modest but useful savings. If you want to accumulate serious wealth then there a number of approaches you can use and some are much more effective than others. The best ways are as follows:
- Start your own business and eventually sell it.This is the most effective and proven way to become rich. If you can find a new approach to a customer need and build a profitable business that addresses that need then you have created real value. It could be a cleaning business, a hairdresser’s, a consultancy or an investment bank. It will probably take years of very hard work to build up the enterprise. Most new businesses fail so the risks are high. You need all the skills, dynamism, perseverance and diligence of an entrepreneur. But if you can pull it off the potential rewards are huge. This is how many of the seriously wealthy people did it.
- Join a start-up and get stock. If you can accumulate equity positions in one or more start-up companies then there is an opportunity for a serious capital gain if the company thrives and either floats or is sold to a larger enterprise. Only a small minority of start-ups succeed in realising large capital gains so the odds are not good. However, you can use your judgement to see which business idea and which management team are likely to succeed. Early employees in Apple, Google and Microsoft became millionaires on this basis.
- Exploit your skill as a self-employed expert. If you can develop a marketable skill and retain your independence then you can reap considerable rewards. This is how sports stars, authors and entertainers become rich. In general the self-employed expert has greater earnings opportunities than one who works for a company. There are risks and you have to have something special. Your success is in your own hands so this is a popular route for people who have developed a skill and want to strike out on their own.
- Develop property. Buying, developing and selling property is a well-established way to build a significant capital position. One of the key elements is that by borrowing money you can gain leverage on your investment. Say you borrow $200,000 and put in $50,000 of your own to buy a property for $250,000. Then you develop the property and sell it for $400,000. The property has increased in value by 60% but your $50,000 has now grown fourfold to $200,000. You have to select the right properties in the right areas and develop them wisely. You are at risk from booms and busts in the property market. However, in the long term this remains a proven way to accumulate wealth.
- Build a portfolio of stocks and shares. If you can make steady investments in stocks over a long period, choose wisely and reinvest the dividends then you can build a large store of wealth. Of course stocks can go down as well as up and many small investors lose heart when their portfolio plunges. But over the long-term equities are as good an investment as property and much more liquid. Stock market crashes represent great buying opportunities for those with cash and strong nerves.
- Inherit wealth. It helps if you were born to successful or wealthy parents but failing that, you could marry fortuitously!
Here’s a few more ideas that are notnecessarilybad but are *ahem* somewhat riskier if your goal is wealth:
- Work in a steady job, cut back expenditures and save in the bank. This is prudent practice and reduces your financial risk but is not an effective method of becoming rich. You should keep your expense within your income but if you want to make serious money then you must significantly boost your income or find ways to multiply your capital. Revisit some of the ideas above.
- Be an inventor. Invent a something that everyone needs and patent your invention. Then licence out your invention and watch the royalties roll in. This is another very difficult route to wealth. Some inventors do get rich this way but securing the patent is arduous and signing a good licensing deal is not easy. However more big companies are looking outside for innovations they can market so it is not impossible.
- Gamble.We hear about lottery winners and poker stars so this approach can sometimes work but the numbers are so unfavourable that it represents a lousy plan for becoming rich. You are strongly advised to avoid this method and use one of the first six above.
There are more important things in life than accumulating wealth. Who wants to end up rich, unloved, lonely and in poor health? However, if you can enjoy a balanced life and at the same time become rich, why not do so? Plan your route and relish the journey!
Paul Sloane is an author and speaker on leadership, innovation and lateral thinking. His most recent book is The Innovative Leader. He helps organizations improve innovation, creativity and leadership. He is the founder of Destination Innovation. He has written 15 books of lateral thinking puzzles and hosts the lateral puzzles forum.
译文:
六个变富最佳方法
...一些不咋样的方法
我们试图设想如果我们努力工作并节约用钱，那么有一天我们会变得富有。这是痴心妄想。我们很有可能积累一些适度并有用的储蓄。如果你想聚积很大一笔财富，那么这里有大量的方法供你使用，有些还比其他方法更为有效。最佳方法如下：
- 创立你自己的事业，最后卖掉它。这是一条最有效而且已被证明了的可以致富的道路。如果你能找到消费者需要的领域，然后创建一个致力于该需要且利润丰厚的的事业，那么你能创造实际价值。它可能是一份清洁事业，成为理发师和顾问，或者成立一家投资银行。当然，要建立一家公司可能需要很多年的辛苦工作。大多数新兴事业容易失败因此风险会很高。作为一名企业家，你需要各种技巧、动力、坚韧和勤奋。但是如果你能努力实现事业，那么潜在的回馈非常丰厚。这就是很多富豪如何致富的方法。
- 参加新建公司并取得股份。要是你能通过一个或者多个新启动的公司积累股权，当公司繁荣发展或是募集资金或者卖给更大的公司时，你就有机会获得丰厚的资金。只有少数新公司在实现取得大笔资金能成功，那么胜算不大。然而，你能通过你的判断来审视哪种生意点子或者哪个管理团队可能取胜。Apple、Google和Microsoft公司的早期雇员都是以此为基础成为了百万富翁。
- 开发作为自雇专家的技能。如果你能发展一套销售技能并保持自我独立，那么你可以收获相当可观的回报。这就是体育明星、作者、娱乐人士致富的方法。通常，自雇专家比在公司工作的人更能获得挣大钱的机会。那里有风险，你还需要具备某种特殊的东西。成功掌握在你自己的手中，因此那些有一技之长并想通过自己努力打造一片天地的人非常适用这一受欢迎的方法。
- 开发房地产。购买、开发和销售房地产是目前公认的确立重要资本地位的方法。其中一个重要因素是通过借款调节投资。如果你借了$200,000 ，再把你自己的$50,000一起投入购买价值$250,000房产。然后你运作这处房产，最后以$400,000的价格出手。那么，该房产在价值上增加了60%，但是你原先的$50,000 已经增长了四倍，达到$200,000。你必须在合适的地方选择对一处房产，然后进行明智地运作。你一定会在房地产市场兴衰起落中冒风险。然而，从长远来看，各种方法已经被证实能积累财富。
- 构建股票投资组合。如果在很长一段时期里你能在股票市场中稳健投资，明智地选择各种股票，然后把红利重新投资到其中去，那么你就能积累一大笔财富了。当然，股市有上有下，很多小投资者在面对投资组合跳水时失去信心。但是从长远看起来，股票同房产投资一样可以被看好，而且股票的流动性很好。当股票市场中的股票大跌时，它代表那些手头有资金且神经敏感的投资者面临极好的买入机会。
- 继承财富。如果你出生在一户成功的或者有钱的家庭，在父母弥留之际，它可以帮你获取一笔财富，幸运地嫁/娶了一个有钱人。
这里还有一些点子，虽然不差，但是如果你的目标是变得有钱，它们在一定程度上存在风险。
- 找一份稳定的工作，削减开销，把剩下的钱存入银行。这是一个谨慎的实践，它能降低财务风险，但是如果你想变得富有，它不是一个非常有效的方法。你需要量入为出，但是你想挣大钱，你必须增加你的收入或者找到增加资本的方法。请重新看看上面的一些点子。
- 成为一个发明家。发明每个人需要的东西并为你的发明取得专利权，然后颁发发明许可证，最后看着版税收进来吧。这是另一个非常艰难的致富道路。有些发明家确实通过这个方法变得富有，但是保护好专利的安全十分费劲，同时签订一场较好的许可买卖也并不简单。但是，更多的大公司正在外面寻找可以买卖的创新事物，那么签订许可协议并不是一件不可能的事情。
- 赌博。我们有听说彩票中奖者和扑克赢家，所以这个方法有时奏效。但是通过这一方法致富的人少之又少，而且这不是一个很好致富的计划。因此，我们不建议你采用这个方法，还是使用上面六个方法当中的其中一个吧。
在人的一生中还有比累积财富更重要的事情。有谁愿意成为一个没有爱、孤独、病痛缠身的富翁呢？然而，如果你有一个平衡的人生，同时也很有钱，这不是更好么？那么计划一下你要走的路，好好品味你的人生旅程！
Paul Sloane是一个在领导、创新和水平思考方面的作家和演讲家。你最新的书是创新领导者。他帮助组织提高创新、创造和领导水平，他还是目标创新的创始人。他写了１５本关于水思考难题的书，并主办了水平思考难题论坛。