A man observes evergreens growing along the roadside and thinks that they look pretty, covered with snow. Another man sees the same trees and thinks, “These trees would look good in people’s living rooms at Christmas. I wonder what they would pay for them?”
The first man has an ordinary mind. The second, the mind of a natural-born moneymaker.
In The Prime Movers, Edwin A. Locke provides some interesting insights into the way moneymakers think.
He argues that an active, inquisitive mind is a hallmark of the successful entrepreneur. The most successful entrepreneurs in history, he says, had this sort of mind.
- Thomas Edison: He was a “virtual thinking machine. Almost until the day he died, his mind poured forth a torrent of ideas, and he might track as many as 60 experiments at a time in his laboratory.”
- Steve Jobs: He bombarded people with his ideas — his investors, his board of directors, his customers, his subordinates, and his CEO.
- Henry Ford: “He threw himself into every detail, insisting on getting small things absolutely right… But he never lost sight of the ultimate, overall objection. He had a vision of what his new car (the Model T) should look like. From all the improvisation, hard thought, and hard work came a machine that was at once the simplest and the most sophisticated automobile built to date anywhere in the world.”
Take my friend Bernard…
I have a friend, an émigré from Manchester, England, who has this kind of moneymaking mind. I have known him for more than twenty years. During that time he has started at least a dozen successful companies. Every company he forms, it seems, becomes successful very quickly. He has become a wealthy man and enjoys a wealthy man’s lifestyle, but his interest in making money has never waned.
In that respect he is very different from me. I became wealthy by making plans and working my ass off. And once I made more than I needed, I stopped paying attention to it.
He made his money effortlessly. Or so it always seemed. And he continues to make money because he really enjoys the process.
He makes money not just by starting successful businesses and investing in real estate (my primary vehicles) but by buying and selling exotic cars, boats, antiques, and expensive watches. Every time I see him, he is driving a new car. One month it’s a Bentley. The next month it’s a Ferrari. He buys slightly used cars and enjoys them and then turns them over for a profit. He has become an expert in barter and countertrade. He never pays full price for anything. He knows how to get the best price for everything. And he loves the game.
Bernard may not have my net worth, but he’s got more than enough for the rest of his life, and he seems to enjoy making money much more than I do.
I admire that about him. I like talking to him about all his recent deals. His excitement gets me excited. It also embarrasses me when I discover that he pays a fraction of what I pay for just about everything.
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