5 ways to adopt a millionaire mindset

Conventional wisdom says it takes confidence, hard work, ambition, drive, time, patience and bit of luck to be a millionaire.

Studies reveal there’s even more to it than that.

The key to making the leap from worker bee to millionaire starts with having the right mindset.

According to Keith Cameron Smith, author of The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class, those with a millionaire mindset believe and step into that identity long before they achieve financial success. They know where they want to be and take action accordingly.

Here are just a few of Smith’s insights. Use them to begin thinking like a millionaire regardless of your current financial standing.

Think big: Don’t focus on technical capabilities and achievements; that’s a trap that keeps you stuck in the day-to-day. Millionaires look at how something can be improved. They understand the value of ideas and making plans that will deliver on future possibilities.

Embrace change as an opportunity: Millionaires don’t fear change. They’ve learned to welcome it and the growth that comes with it. They take calculated risks, focusing on the intensity of the risk versus the power of the reward. It’s not about instant gratification. “Millionaires overcome fear with knowledge. They educate themselves before taking risks, and then they consider the consequences of failing,” Smith writes.

Drop the one source of income thinking: Millionaires believe trying to do everything themselves puts extreme limits on their financial potential. Instead, they focus on developing multiple streams of income and creating sources of passive income.

Delegate:Millionaires believe in the value of finding someone who can do the work as well as, or even better than, they can. Delegating gives millionaires the freedom to move on to the next income-generating project.

Set long-term goals: Think of goals in terms of years and decades. Don’t get stuck in the present or short term. According to Smith, there’s a direct correlation between your goal timeline and the amount of wealth you build. He says it’s because long-term goals force you to think about big picture questions such as, “How can I double my income this year?” instead of short-term issues such as, “How am I going to pay my bills this month?”