4 Things Young Self-Made Millionaires Have

In Common

AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Most people work their entire career without becoming a millionaire — but some achieve that
level of wealth before turning 30.

As it turns out, there are a few key characteristics that set certain people up to earn big early on,
according to Peter Voogd, founder of the Game Changers Academy, who made his first million
before turning 26.

"You don't make a million by accident," he says in a recent LinkedIn post. "If it's not a goal you
sure as hell won't hit it."

Here are four vital traits young, successful millionaires share, as observed firsthand by Voogd:

They have a sense of urgency.

Young millionaires become successful so early in life because they constantly work toward
success instead of waiting for opportunities to come to them. "Now matters more than any other
time, and the 'someday isle' mentality is killing so many dreams," Voogd says. Millionaires make
monetary success a top priority from day one instead of pushing it to the back burner as
something they'd like to achieve someday.

They find a strong mentor.

Millionaires don't reach that status alone, and even self-made millionaires find smart, wise
mentors to guide them as they build their careers. "Success rises and falls on who you associate
with, so make sure you stay aware of your surroundings," Voogd says. Learning from those who
came before you is key to making the right business decisions, and a good mentor will challenge
you and help you focus on bigger thinking, Voogd adds.

They focus on leverage.

Time is money, and while the traditional method of trading your time for a proportional payment
will earn you a decent salary, it won't make you a millionaire. "At some point you have to focus
on scaling and leverage," Voogd says. "Investment properties, membership sites, building a
brand, partnerships, affiliate marketing, different types of programs, etc." Young millionaires
maximize their time to make sure they're always earning as much as possible.

They don't care what other people think.

"People who care what others think of them will always be limited to others' opinions," Voogd
says. Young millionaires don't waste time trying to please people who don't believe in them or
win over those that don't support them. Instead, they focus on their own vision and learn to
believe in themselves. To become truly successful, "you must give up the need to be liked by
everybody," Voogd warns.

The Trends of The Youngest Millionaires

September 11, 2014

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This article isn't about the millions, it's about interrupting the belief system you currently have,
and educating you on how to build wealth. Being a millionaire is very rare in our society. Some
work their whole lives and never reach the status. Of course, they'll validate anyway they can
saying things like "I don't care about money," "Millionaires aren't happy," "I don't need that
much money," and I'm sure you can think of 30 others validations. The exciting news for all
those Young Professionals that aspire to become millionaires is that the number of young
millionaires are rising year after year. They're also getting younger and younger. That's exciting!
I have been around my fair share of extremely successful young professionals, made my first
million before 26, and have a mentor that made his first million when he was 21. You don't make
a million by accident and if it's not a goal you sure as hell won't hit it. Let's talk about what I've
discovered over the past 10 years, and what the common themes you see in all these Young
Millionaires are. These are facts, not theory. Let's go!

Urgency
The best companies on the planet LOVE young talent, they love those who are on purpose, and
they love those who have a sense of urgency to their life. Google is hiring more teenagers than
college graduates. Here's an article talking about the 12 year old they just hired. Hmm... I would
ponder on that one.. Realize, now matters more than any other time, and the "someday isle"
mentality is killing so many dreams. I know people who have been in the same company for
years, but haven't advanced. Opportunities are only opportunities if you're taking full advantage
of them. Young millionaires always do, and they are consistently reaching for new goals and
ambitions. You MUST have a sense of urgency that most of society doesn't have if you're serious
about success. One trait we look for when qualifying people who apply for our Game Changers
Academy is urgency. Do they have hunger and ambition to elevate their game NOW, not a
month from now? There will NEVER be the right time.

Elevated Influence
Behind every young millionaire you'll find an educated and wise mentor. I have yet to meet any
millionaires or billionaires who don't have mentors that guide them, challenge them, and always
focus them on bigger thinking. They understand deep down that it's impossible to grow, learn,
and become the person needed to reach the million mark without an exceptional network behind
you. Success rises and falls on who you associate with so make sure you stay aware of your
surroundings. You can systematize a lot of things, but you can't systematize time so make sure
you're always spending it with the right people.

Maximizing Their Strengths

One of my favorite Gary Vaynerchuk quotes of all time is

"I suck at 99% of stuff, but I go all out on that 1% I'm good at."

We're conditioned by our teachers, peers, parents, uneducated coaches, and everybody else
pumped to give advice that you must "learn to work on your weaknesses," and "Strengthen your
weaknesses," but all young millionaires focus 100% on their best skills and strengths. They learn
to surround themselves with people who compliment their weaknesses, or they delegate them.
You'll never get wealthy focusing on things you aren't good at. Whats your 1 thing? What can
you become the best at? Now, once you master that area, and start producing real results, you can
then move to something else. The jack of all trades is seldom exceptional at anything, and
usually broke as well.

Never Trade Time For Money

Young Millionaires realize they'll never become wealthy trading time for money, and neither
will you. It's ok for awhile, but at some point you have to focus on scaling and leverage. One of
the reasons Entrepreneurship, Network Marketing, Direct Sales, and Internet Businesses are
growing exponentially is because of the endless possibility. It's not easy, and it takes risk, but
you must see past the risk and focus on the rewards. Focus on the power of leverage and how to
create consistent income without trading time for money. Investment properties, membership
sites, building a brand, partnerships, affiliate marketing, different types of programs, etc. Take
some time to really analyze if you're maximizing your time. If you are trading time for money
make 100% sure it's an intelligent trade. If you want to make more money become more
valuable. It's as simple as that. Millionaires become millionaires because they've added more
value to the marketplace than most people, and they understand the power of leveraging and
scaling their businesses.

They Could Care Less

You must drop the need to be liked if you want an extraordinary life. People who care what
others think of them will always be limited to others opinions. You best believe Young
Millionaires take very few opinions and have a extremely thick skin. (Check out my 1o min
podcast about "How to build real mental toughness" and subscribe here) When you pursue
greatness don’t expect others to support you, because you’ll represent the courage, strength, and
vision they don’t yet have. The remarkable innovator, Steve Jobs use to say

“your time is limited so don’t waste it living somebody else's life.”

Young Millionaires trust their vision, and have an unshakable confidence in what they do; even
when everyone else is doubting it. I challenge you to stay fearless in everything you do. The
reason most don’t take risks, live on the edge, or push the envelope is the fear of what others
might think of them. If you want to live the life you truly deserve, one of significance and
fulfillment you must give up the need to be liked by everybody. Will Smith said it perfectly

“Trying to get everybody to like you is the most common chosen road to mediocrity.”

Producer First, Consumer Second

In one of my favorite books "The Millionaire Fast Lane," MJ Demarco talks about the
importance of being a producer first, and a consumer second. Here is an insert, "Applied, this
means instead of buying products on TV, sell products. Instead of digging for gold, sell shovels.
Instead of taking a class, offer a class. Instead of borrowing money, lend it. Instead of taking a
job, hire for jobs. Instead of taking a mortgage, hold a mortgage. Break free from consumption,
switch sides, and reorient to the world as producer. To consume richly, produce richly first.
Unfortunately, most people have it backward: consumption and no production. Producers get
rich. Consumers get poor. Switch teams and reorient as a producer first, a consumer second.
Make wealth attracted to you!"
Those focused on building something bigger than themselves, and are consistently on purpose
are always producing results, not consuming.

I challenge you to take these seriously, and become more intentional in all you do. I will tell you
Wealth, Lifestyle, and Freedom are best experienced at a young age! Most people spend the first
1/2 of their lives saying they are too young, and the second 1/2 saying they're too old. The time is
NOW, and there is no tomorrow for champions. Are you really living your potential, expressing
your creative genius, and living an inspiring life? You're just a capable and deserving as
everybody else, but understand it takes massive sacrifice along with implementation of the right
actions. This is the greatest time in human history for those who take 100% responsibility for
their economic well being. Commit to these tactics with the focus that your life deserves, and
continue to cement in your head that you are always in control of your economy regardless of
your outside circumstances. Respect to you and the progress you’re making towards a world
class life.

Also, if you're interested in networking and surrounding yourself with 300+ of the Worlds most
Inspired, Dedicated, and Brilliant Young Professionals check out The Game Changers
Academy. See if you have what it takes.

15 Customer Service Skills that

Every Employee Needs
GREGORY CIOTTI | FEBRUA RY 20 , 2013

There are certain customer service skills that

every employee must master if they are
forward-facing with customers.
Without them, you run the risk of finding your business in an
embarrassing customer service train-wreck, or simply losing customers
as your service continues to let people down.

Luckily, there are a few universal skills that every support member can
master that will drastically improve their interactions with customers.
Below I'll go over the 15 most-needed skills that matter to this incredibly
important position.

The Customer Service Skills that Matter

When most business publications talk about customer service skills,
things like "being a people person" tend to take the spotlight...

It's not that this trait is outright wrong, but it's

so vague and generic that it is hardly a help to those looking to get
involved in support positions within a company, and certainly doesn't
help out entrepreneurs/founders who are looking for the right set of
skills when hiring the all-important folks who will be taking care of their
customers.

With that said, let's get into some SPECIFIC skills that every support
employee can master to "WOW" the customers that they interact with on
a daily basis...

1. Patience
If you don't see this near the top of a customer service skills list, you
should just stop reading.

Not only is patience important to customers, who often reach out to

support when they are confused and frustrated, but it's also important to
the business at large: we've shown you before that great service beats
fast service every single time.

Yet patience shouldn't be used as an excuse for slothful service either!

Derek Sivers explained his view on "slower" service as being an
interaction where the time spent with the customer was used to better
understand their problems and needs from the company.

If you deal with customers on a daily basis, be sure to stay patient when
they come to you stumped and frustrated, but also be sure to take the
time to truly figure out what they want — they'd rather get competent
service than be rushed out the door!

2. Attentiveness
I feel like men may need to re-read this one twice, if girlfriends and wives
are to be believed... ;)

The ability to really listen to customers is so crucial for providing great

service for a number of reasons.

Last week I went over a few customer feedback systems, and long before
that I showed you the data on why listening to customer feedback is a
must for manybusinesses who are looking to innovate.

Not only is it important to pay attention to individual customer

interactions (watching the language/terms that they use to describe their
problems), but it's also important to be mindful and attentive to the
feedback that you receive at large.

For instance, customers may not be saying it outright, but perhaps there
is a pervasive feeling that your software's dashboard isn't laid out
correctly. Customers aren't likely to say, "Please improve your UX!", but
they may say things like, "I can never find the search feature," or, "Where
is the _____ function at again?"

What are your customers telling you without saying it?

3. Clear Communication Skills

For all of the "mumblers" and people who love to ramble on (that's me!),
you need to listen up!

It's okay to find out more about your customers, but make sure you're
getting to the problem at hand quickly; customers don't need your life
story or to hear about how your day is going.

More importantly, you need to be cautious about how some of your

communication habits translate to customers, and it's best to err on the
side of caution whenever you find yourself questioning a situation.

An example: The last time I went to get work done on my car, I was
told by an employee that if I wanted to get an oil change, it would be
"included" in my final bill.

I thought that meant I'd be getting it for free, yet as it turns out, that
wasn't the case. The employee apologized and I truly believe it was an
accident (they just worked there), but I haven't been back to that shop
since because of the miscommunication.

When it comes to important points that you need to relay clearly to

customers, keep it simple and leave nothing to doubt.
4. Knowledge of the Product
As a non-technical guy, this is one I try to work on every single day.

The best forward-facing employees in your company will work on having

a deepknowledge of how your product works.

It's not that every single team member should be able to build your
product from scratch, but rather they should know the ins and outs of
how your product works, just like a customer who uses it everyday
would.

Without knowing your product from front-to-back, you won't know how
to help customers when they run into problems.

5. Ability to Use "Positive Language"

Sounds like fluffy nonsense, but your ability to make minor changes in
your conversational patterns can truly go a long way in creating happy
customers.

Language is a very important part of persuasion, and people (especially

customers) create perceptions about you and your company based off of
the language that you use.

Here's an example: Let's say a customer contacts you with an interest

in a particular product, but that product happens to be backordered until
next month.
Small changes that utilize "positive language" can greatly affect how the
customer hears your response...

 Without positive language: "I can't get you that product until next
month; it is back-ordered and unavailable at this time."

 With positive language: "That product will be available next month. I

can place the order for you right now and make sure that it is sent to you
as soon as it reaches our warehouse."
The first example isn't negative by any means, but the tone that it
conveys feels abrupt and impersonal, and can be taken the wrong way by
customers.

Conversely, the second example is stating the same thing (the item is
unavailable), but instead focuses on when/how the customer will get to
their resolution rather than focusing on the negative.

6. Acting Skills
Let's get real honest here... sometimes you're going to come across
people that you'll never be able to make happy.

Situations outside of your control (they had a terrible day, or they are
just a natural-born complainer) will sometimes creep into your usual
support routine, and you'll be greeted with those "barnacle" customers
that seem to want nothing else but to pull you down.

Every great customer service rep will have those basic acting
skillsnecessary to maintain their usual cheery persona in spite of dealing
with people who may be just plain grumpy.
7. Time Management Skills
Hey, despite my many research-backed rants on why you should spend
more time with customers, the bottom line is that there is a limit, and
you need to be concerned with getting customers what they want in
an efficient manner.

The trick here is that this should also be applied when realizing when you
simply cannot help a customer. If you don't know the solution to a
problem, the best kind of support member will get a customer over to
someone who does.

Don't waste time trying to go above and beyond for a customer in an area
where you will just end up wasting both of your time!

8. Ability to "Read" Customers

You won't always be able to see customers face-to-face, and in many
instances (nowadays) you won't even hear a customer's voice!

That doesn't exempt you from understanding some basic principles of

behavioral psychology and being able to "read" the customer's current
emotional state.

This is an important part of the personalization process as well, because

it takes knowing your customers to create a personal experience for
them.
More importantly though, this skill is essential because you don't want to
mis-read a customer and end up losing them due to confusion and
miscommunication.

Look and listen for subtle clues about their current mood, patience level,
personality, etc., and you'll go far in keeping your customer interactions
positive.

9. A Calming Presence
There's a lot of metaphors for this type of personality: "keeps their cool,"
"staying cool under pressure," etc., but it all represents the same thing...
the ability that some people have to stay calm and even influence others
when things get a little hectic.

I've had my fair share of hairy hosting situations, and I can tell you in all
honesty that the #1 reason I stick with certain hosting companies is due
to the ability of their customer support team to keep me from pulling my
hair out.

The best customer service reps know that they cannot let a heated
customer force them to lose their cool; in fact it is their job to try to be
the "rock" for a customer who thinks the world is falling down due to
their current problem.

10. Goal Oriented Focus

This may seem like a strange thing to list as a customer service skill, but I
assure you that it is vitally important.
In my article on empowering employees, I noted that many customer
service experts have shown how giving employees unfettered power to
"WOW" customers doesn't always generated the returns that many
businesses expect to see.

That's because it leaves employees without goals, and business goals +

customer happiness can work hand-in-hand without resulting in poor
service.

Relying on frameworks like the Net Promoter Score can help businesses
come up with guidelines for their employees that allow plenty of freedom
to handle customers on a case-to-case basis, but also leave them priority
solutions and "go-to" fixes for common problems.

» Read more about this concept here.

11. Ability to Handle Surprises

Despite what I had to say above, sometimes the customer support world
is going to throw you a curveball!

Maybe the problem you encounter isn't specifically covered in the

company's guidelines, or maybe the customer isn't reacting how you
thought they would.

Whatever the case, it's best to be able to think on your feet... but it's
even better to create guidelines for yourself in these sorts of situations.

Let's say, for instance, you want to come up with a quick system for when
you come across a customer who has a product problem you've never
seen before...
  Who? One thing you can decide right off the bat is who you should
consider your "go-to" person when you don't know what to do. The CEO
might be able to help you, but you can't go to them with every single
question! Define a logical chain for yourself to use, then you won't be left
wondering who you should forward the problem too.

 What? When the problem is noticeably out of your league, what are you
going to send to the people above? The full conversation, just the
important parts, or maybe some highlights and an example of a similar
ticket?

 How? When it comes time to get someone else involved, how are you
going to contact them? For instance, at Help Scout we prefer to solve
small dilemmas over chat, and save bigger problems for email, keeping
inbox clutter down to a minimum.

12. Persuasion Skills

This is one a lot of people didn't see coming!

Experienced customer support personnel know that oftentimes, you will

get messages in your inbox that are more about the curiosity of your
company's product, rather than having problems with it.

(Especially true if your email is available on-site, like ours)

To truly take your customer service skills to the next level, you need to
have some mastery of persuasion so that you can convince interested
customers that your product is right for them (if it truly is).
It's not about making a sales pitch in each email, but it is about not
letting potential customers slip away because you couldn't create a
compelling message that your company's product is worth purchasing!

13. Tenacity
Call it what you want, but a great work ethic and a willingness to do what
needs to be done (and not take shorcuts) is a key skill when providing the
kind of service that people talk about.

The many memorable customer service stories out there (many of which
had a huge impact on the business) were created by a single employee
who refused to just do the "status quo" when it came to helping someone
out.

Remembering that your customers are people too, and knowing that
putting in the extra effort will come back to you ten-fold should be your
driving motivation to never "cheat" your customers with lazy service.

14. Closing Ability

To be clear, this has nothing to do with "closing sales" or other related
terms.

Being able to close with a customer means being able to end the
conversation with confirmed satisfaction (or as close to it as you can
achieve) and with the customer feeling that everything has been taken
care of (or will be).
Getting booted after a customer service call or before all of their
problems have been addressed is the last thing that customers want, so
be sure to take the time to confirm with customers that each and every
issue they had on deck has been entirely resolved.

Your willingness to do this shows the customer 3 very

important things:

 That you care about getting it right

 That you're willing to keep going until you get it right

 That the customer is the one who determines what "right" is.
When you get a customer to, "Yes, I'm all set!" is when you know the
conversation is over!

15. Willingness to Learn!

If you came across this article and read all the way to the bottom, you
likely already have this skill (nice!).

This is probably the most "general" skill on the list, but it's still
necessary.

Those who don't seek to improve what they do, whether it's building
products, marketing businesses, or helping customers, will get left
behind by the people willing to invest in their skills.

We love how the BufferApp team approaches this skill with their
wonderfulmonthly customer happiness updates.
The updates are public, detailed, and go through how the support team
(and the team at large) handled incoming emails for the month.

What better way can a startup's support team learn as it goes then
breaking down their own customer happiness metrics each and every
month, for the public to see?

How To Become So Good They

Can't Ignore You

When asked for advice, comedian Steve Martin likes to say, "Be so good
they can't ignore you."
Whether you're just starting out in your career or trying to get to the next
level, your goal should be to master your craft to the point where people
can't help but notice.

In his book "So Good They Can't Ignore You," Georgetown University
professor Cal Newport shares his insights on how people can achieve
their goals and use their skills to create a fulfilling and passionate career.

Here are five steps to becoming so good they'll have to pay attention.

1. Don't follow your passion.

Being passionate about your work is a great goal. However, "following
your passion" is not going to get you there because it has two
fundamental problems.

The first is that "follow your passion" assumes that people have a pre-
existing passion they can identify and use to make career decisions.
However, most people have no idea what they want to do and can end up
feeling lost.

The second problem lies in the assumption that if you really like
something, then you'll really like doing it for a job. "We don't have much
evidence that's true," says Newport. "If you really study people with
meaning and passion in their work, it has little to do with whether the
topic of their job matches their pre-existing passions."

He gives an example of amateur photographers or bakers who open up

businesses but end up facing extreme financial difficulty that leads to
unhappiness. "That's because having work that you love is a lot more
complicated than, 'Hey, I like this thing! If I do it for work, I'll like my
work!'" explains Newport.

Don't follow your passion. Instead, "let your passion follow you, in your
quest to become so good you can't be ignored," says Newport.

2. Find a skill and career path to pursue.

Now that you understand the dangers of blindly pursuing your passion,
you need to build skills. "Try something that's interesting to you,"
Newport advises. "It doesn't have to be your one true passion or
calling." If you're stuck between two paths, flip a coin.

The only criteria you should have for your career is that it fits your values
and rewards skill with more options and flexibility.

Contrary to popular belief, there are no set skills that are intrinsically
more practical than others, he says. Even if skills don't seem directly
valuable, you can make up for them by making yours more rare or by
reaching a high level of expertise.

For example, many people look down on English majors for being
impractical. But if you can become very good at a particular type of
writing, that makes you stand out, says Newport.

Don't worry about loving your job from the start. Newport believes that passion
is a side effect of mastery. "If you study how people end up passionate about their work, the
most common answer is that their passion developed over time, after they built up skills
that are rare and valuable," he says.

If you don't feel your engagement or interest in your work growing as

you work on the skill, you're probably not developing the skill fast
enough, not becoming rare or valuable enough, or you didn't choose a
field that matches your values. If you recognize this, don't be afraid to
switch career paths.

3. Master that skill through deliberate practice in order to

gain career capital.
Once you've settled on a career path, it's time to master the skills you need to become
irreplaceable. Once you do, you'll gain career capital that you can offer in return for a great
job.

"Until you become good, you don't have leverage," says Newport. The
more mastery you have over your skill, regardless of the field, the more
control and satisfaction it'll give you in your career.
When working to improve your skill, watch out for a common mistake: If you simply show
up and work hard every day, you'll hit a performance plateau and stop getting better. "Many
workers build their basic skills quickly at first, but once they're comfortable, they stop
getting better because they're not stretching themselves," says Newport.

To avoid this, you need to use deliberate practice. "People need to train their skills like an
athlete, musician, or chess player would," says Newport. Identify a clear, specific stretch
goal based on something that you're not quite able to do yet, and push yourself beyond your
comfort zone to get there. Strive to tackle ambitious projects, ask for brutally
honest feedback, and experiment with new ways to develop your skills.

To make sure you're on the right track, use money as a neutral indicator
of the value of your skill. "People will only give you money if they're
getting value for it," says Newport. "You know you're getting better at
something if more money is being offered to you."

Newport calls this idea "the law of financial viability." The point is not
that money is the goal, but that money is a great source of honest
feedback. If you don't see people giving you an increasing amount of
money for what you're doing, then you're not getting that much better at
it.

4. Use your mastery to negotiate for more control in your

job.
"Once you're really good at something, that by itself isn't enough," says
Newport. "You have to use your skills as leverage to take control of your
working life, whether through your work hours, vacation time, or
projects."

Take control of your career to gain benefits that resonate with you. For
example, if you are a television writer, once you have established a strong
portfolio, you will have the opportunity to choose the specific shows you
want to work on and collaborate with any big name you desire. When
your skills become valuable enough, finding clients will never be a
problem again.
The better you are, the more doors will open for you. You'll have the freedom
and flexibility to jump for whatever opportunity seems most promising to you.

5. Find your mission.

"One way to find great meaning and satisfaction in your work is to end
up with a mission that organizes your goals and working life," says
Newport. You don't need to have a mission to love your work, but it's a
common thing that most people want to pursue.

However, finding your mission is one of the last steps you should think
about. "The most important thing to recognize is that you don't just start
with the mission and go off and pursue it," says Newport. "If you study
people who actually have meaningful missions in their life, they start by getting really good
in their field at first."

This is because a career mission is similar to a scientific breakthrough — it's an innovation

at the very cutting edge of your field, so you can't know about it until you get there. Only
when you establish strong expertise can you really identify a real, sustainable, impactful
mission.

There's no way to escape it: You have to get really good at something
before big things start to happen.