FREE ESSAY ON WHO WANTS TO MAKE THEMSELVES A MILLIONAIRE

WHO WANTS TO MAKE THEMSELVES A MILLIONAIRE

Who Wants To Make Themselves A Millionaire?
Why are we working to make other people rich? Is it because we are trained to in school?
Or is it because big business makes an offer we can't refuse? I think that at an early
age we are taught to be a good employee rather than live life in a business state of
mind.
At an early age we are taught to be employees. We are taught to work together to help us
socialize with others in our work. We are taught to follow directions to help us be
better employees, receive successful jobs, and succeed in the jobs we do get. I know that
following directions and socializing with others are important in developing as a person,
but we also need to be taught a better business state of mind. By this, I mean we should
learn how to develop ideas to become our own boss.
We are taught at early ages to make good grades. Why is this? I believe it is because we
are taught that good grades insure better jobs, which is to an extent true. Bill Gates,
Lawrence Ellison, and Paul Allen, the top three on Forbes' richest people list, had
ideas, developed them, and became successful. In Rich Dad, Poor Dad, the author states
that wealthy people stay wealthy by teaching kids a business state of mind; whereas,
middle class people tend to teach their kids to be an employee (Kiyosaki 58). There are
middle class people who become rich, but I think it's because they got out of the
employee state of mind. An example is Tom Reynolds; he has a five-year-old business and
fewer than 50 employees, but is approaching six million dollars in sales. I think he was
goal-driven to become rich and this ambition got him from middle class to millionaire
status (Silverstein T8) 
When I used to work at Best Buy I would think of people like Tom Reynolds who progressed
out of the middle-class. While I was getting paid six dollars and fifty cents an hour,
like most regular employees, Richard Schultz, the founder of Best Buy, was making
hundreds of millions of dollars a year. This wasn't making a lot of sense to me. Why did
everyone else work while he got to relax and become rich? It's because he had an idea and
developed it. Some people are born workers. I know we need workers to make a society, but
work wasn't and isn't for me. My friend and I had an idea of advertising on the Internet.
With a few learn-how-to books and some time, we had created our own business. I think
that like Tom Reynolds we were goal driven to become successful. I think that without
dreams and ambitions one cannot succeed. Without dreams and ambitions what does one have
to look forward to? I may not be making millions of dollars, but I have all the time I
need, and I still make money. 
Most people are happy with their life as an employee, and that is wonderful. Without
them, we wouldn't have fast food and other needed services. There are also a lot of
people unhappy with their salary, but they work it out. If they had been taught a better
business state of mind, I think they could have found ways to be happier with their
lives. When I interviewed a friend of mine who is an employee that wants to find a better
job, I asked him six questions. What kind of job would you rather have, if not current
employer, and why don't you have it; what types of tasks do you do daily; in ten years
would you still want to be where you are today; compare and contrast the labor you do for
your boss and the hours worked each week; as a child do you think you were taught to be
an employee or a business person; and do you think that people being unhappy with their
jobs is a problem in America? He tells me that he would rather be in business for himself
making his money work for him or work as a laser technician. He did go to school to study
to be a laser technician, but money for college and longing for family and friends turned
out to be issues. Now, he repairs equipment such as copiers, printers, and computers for
schools, hospitals, and other corporations, which are usually general maintenance. He
does not plan on being in the same occupation in the future. He wants to find a way to
make his money work for him by either starting his own business or making investments. He
and his boss work the same hours, but he does fieldwork, whereas his boss makes sure
employees complete their jobs properly, which is easier work. Even though the work is
easier, the boss gets paid double what a service technician makes. He told me that his
father ran a small business that helped him with an understanding of being a better
businessperson, but in school he feels he was taught to be an employee. He thinks that
most Americans average over three job changes are because they are unhappily employed
(Boatman, Personal Interview). I also think if more people were taught a better business
state of mind, they would be in jobs they wanted rather than jobs they need to survive-
thus having friendlier service and more smiles.
If we teach our children a business state of mind they will be more apt to become
successful. In Secrets of a Successful Entrepreneur the author Gene Daily tells of the
eleven rules of success: "1.) Work smarter not harder. 2.) Strive for accuracy first,
then build momentum. 3.) Build a good reputation on the quality of your products and
services. 4.) Find a niche and become an expert in your field. 5.) Always better your
best and strive to improve your products and services. 6.) Be creative by adapting and
applying innovative techniques in your field. 7.) Be market driven not product driven by
reacting with your customers needs. 8.) Plan for success; know where you're going and how
you're going to get there. 9.) Capitalize on change by using a springboard to improve
your products, procedures, and reputation. 10.) Think before you act. 11.) Always promise
a lot and deliver even more" (Dailey 12). Of course, we will need to teach our children
the basics, but should emphasize these eleven steps to success. I think another great way
to show our children an entrepreneurship is lemonade stands. As a child I had a Kool-Aid
stand, I remember I was so happy when I made five dollars and bought two G.I. Joe
figurines. Ideas like these are an excellent way to show our children that we can do
anything if we put our minds to it and business can be fun. We need to get down to the
basics again with our children because it is difficult for the human brain to be taught
one thing and believe it for so long and then try to learn and believe in the complete
opposite. If we teach to fresh young minds the children wouldn't have to try to re-learn
business ideas. We have to remember that the children of today are tomorrow's business
tycoons.
Bibliography
Boatman II, Mark. Personal Interview. 29 Sept. 2000.
Dailey, Gene. Secrets of a Successful Entrepreneur. Pleasanton: K & A Publishing, 1993.
Kiyosaki, Robert T. Rich Dad, Poor Dad. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998.
Silverstein, Stuart. "Right at Home in Virtual Office." New York Daily News 6 July 1997:
Technology:8.