Becoming wealthy in America or any part of the world is not because of luck, winning the lottery or having a high IQ as the media, wants you to believe. In his book, The Millionaire Mind, bestselling author, Thomas J Stanley, tells of a survey of 733 millionaires he conducted. The survey asked them to rate the success factors for their wealth. The respondents from the survey, identified over 100 success factors for becoming a millionaire. The most interesting part of the survey to me was that it rated skills, often downplayed by the media as important. Most millionaires portrayed by Hollywood are arrogant, risk takers who made their fortunes, at the expense of others on their way up the ladder of success.

This is far from the truth. In fact over half of the millionaires (56 percent) in Dr Stanley’s survey, rated getting along with people as one of the top reasons for their economic success. This contradicts the popular idea that I.Q (high intellect) is a major factor for becoming wealthy. The survey showed only 20% of the millionaires rated having a high IQ as and only about 10% felt “attending a top rated college” was a critical success factor to becoming a millionaire.

Why getting along with people is critical to becoming a millionaire

It is rare to become successful without the help of others. Most of the affluent people I know never take credit for their accomplishments. This is because no man is an island whether personally, in business or whilst building wealth. You need people to succeed in any business. You need to be able to get along with your customers, your team members and your employees. You need your spouse’s cooperation when you have to work long hours at the initial start-up phase of your business. You need to go out of your way to attract, motivate, appreciate and nurture key advisers, suppliers and employees. In fact, the level of people skill you have will determine how far you can grow your business.

There is another important reason you need to get along with people; you cannot get to tap into the genius of people around you. This is the act of tapping into the power of the mastermind. This success principle, the coordination of knowledge and effort of others in a spirit of harmony between two or more people for the attainment of a definite purpose-is what has accounted for the economic success of millionaires and billionaires.

Richard Branson and Bill Gates have to get along with many people in order to achieve the economic success they have accomplished

One common mistake I see investors do is not trusting and appreciating the ability of others. I think this is as result of what, I call the “intellectual blindside”. This is when you think you intellect makes you better than others. I realise that in order to achieve my goals to become wealthy, I need to get along with others.

How to start getting along with other to build wealth

I think the best way to make use of this idea is to bear in mind the following and take action with the following tips:

• Develop a positive attitude towards others because it will help your altitude in business, personal relationships and in your chosen career
• Always remember, no one ever acquired wealth without the help of others
• Take the time to look for and develop relationship with people who are successful and can help you move forwards in life
• Learn to appreciate your employees, vendors and suppliers; they can make all the difference.
• Develop the habit of tolerating others and living in harmony with your spouse, friends, employers or partners so you can move up the ladder of success.
• Learn to give more than you receive.

This one secret of the millionaire mind – getting along with people, will propel you to affluence and the millionaire ranks easily.

To your success