[Editor's Note: Most of this post was from a one page handout I received many years ago without an author's name attached to it. I would like to give credit where credit is due, but never did discover the original author; however, I did find many of the ideas shared in this post in his book, "How To Be Rich" by J. Paul Getty]
The late J. Paul Getty was a oil baron billionaire who founded and controlled Getty Oil Company and two hundred other related companies. Before his death, he revealed his secret formula of acquiring great wealth.
Getty’s rules for accumulating great wealth are simple and to the point. Mr. Getty was the world’s richest man, so his rules have a ring of authenticity about them, and are still as true today as they were for Getty in his time.
As you will find them put in simple terms, don’t brush them off as mere generalities. Don’t make this mistake. These are real “hard-nosed” truths for success.
There is no romance or so called secret of success here, no easy road to riches or business success, but some rules that will build wealth when applied with intelligent effort.
RULE #1: To aquire wealth today, you must be in your own business.
You may think that the corporate executive with his $100,000 a year income is far better off than the guy running a small business, but the executive will be hard pressed to double his income, and taxes will eat up most of that.
The small business person has unlimited opportunity to expand his business and his income. He has many tax advantages, too. The long and short of it is this– the guy with the peanut stand has more long-range opportunity for wealth than the highly paid executive working for someone else.
RULE #2: You must have a working knowledge of the business when you start it, and continue to increase your knowledge of it as you go along.
Knowledge is self-explanatory. You’ve got to know what you are doing, and keep up with the exploding technology of today as it affects your enterprise.
RULE #3: You must save money in your personal life and in your business venture as well.
The art of saving money is directly connected with personal discipline. Do you have enough will power to deny yourself immediate gradifications in order to save the money for future expansion, as opposed to current increases in income or gambling on the quick buck? It is imperative that you pay yourself first!
RULE #4: You must take risks, both with your own money and with borrowed money.
Risk-taking is essential to business growth. The ability to lay on the line years of saved capital, or the entire future of your business on borrowed captial is going to be needed time and time again in order to gain wealth. The rish has to be backed by good judgment, relevant experience and total commitment.
RULE #5: You must not only learn to live with tension but seek it out.
Seek out tension. Here lies the real secret of men of great wealth. They like the game, its perils and turmoil. They like to say that “money is the only way to keep score on the wins and the losses.” So it must be for you. The game filled with tensions and challenges must be what you want.
RULE #6: Build wealth as a by-product of your business success. If wealth is your only object in business, you will probably fail.
Again, your wealth will come as a by-product of the game. If you win, the money will be there.
RULE #7: Patience. This is the greatest business asset of all.
Patience. This the wilingess to wait for the proper time to make your moves, to let the business grow naturally without pressing your luck. It is the greatest asset a risk-taker has.
RULE #8: Diversify at the top.
When you have it made, then take all your eggs out of one basket and move into other things, bigger and better games. Pyramid your investments, and you can decide how high you want to go.
There they are, These are the rules of acquiring wealth as laid down by a billionaiare, a man who had more money than any other man on earth!
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An essay contest was recently announced at his elementary school and he decided he wanted to enter it. It required writing an essay on leadership. The prize? He would personally get to read it in front of the whole school and then it would later be published in the yearbook along with his picture. He was excited about the prospect. He decided to enter.
