If you want to become a millionaire or even a multimillionaire, you need more than just a salary increase. You also need financial habits and mindset on payday. Natalie Dawson, an American entrepreneur with assets over a hundred million, became a multimillionaire at the age of 30. This wasn’t just luck – it was because each time she received her pay, she readjusted her perception of money. Here are 5 simple and achievable strategies she offers to help you take control of your finances and achieve financial freedom.
The ultimate secret to building wealth is reminding yourself daily: even with a monthly income of 50,000, you are still not truly rich enough. When you start feeling complacent about your income, it’s time to reset your mindset to zero. Successful people view money as a tool that constantly evolves and requires attention. You must keep an eye on it at all times, as stagnant wealth coupled with inflation means your money is constantly losing value.
When you start feeling like you have a lot of money, things start going off track. However, when you fully accept that you’re not wealthy, you are more likely to take disciplined actions to build wealth. This mindset will generate an internal drive, pushing you to continually strive, build and focus on creating value.
The money you have itself does not bring security; true security comes from your ability to earn money. The wealth you have today is the result of hard work from yesterday. Therefore, the only way to achieve financial freedom and security is to have absolute confidence in your ability to create wealth.
If you earned $5,000 last month, that’s great, but your goal for this month should be $10,000. The wealth you create, the assets you accumulate, and the labor you put in are all in the past; now it’s about continuing to create wealth and value.
Most people don’t think in big enough amounts. How much money does it really take to change your life? Have you ever thought about this question? Is it $5,000 a month? $10,000 a month? $50,000 a month? $100,000 a month? Or $1 million a month? What is that number? Dawson asserts that if you don’t have a clear target amount, you will never earn that amount.
When you calculate with big numbers, you quickly realize that to reach your goal, you have to change your current behaviors. For example, if you’re currently making $5,000 a month and you think making $50,000 a month would change your life trajectory, how can you achieve a tenfold increase in output? Simply increasing your work hours tenfold is impossible if you have a job that pays by the hour. You need to invest your time in higher value areas, use more advanced skills to solve more complex problems to earn ten times the income. So, it comes down to logical analysis. Which knowledge and skills are you lacking compared to those earning five or six-figure salaries annually?
Dawson revealed that when she was working a job she hated with an annual salary of $55,000, she heard a colleague mention that a certain executive was making a million a year. She wondered, “What did he do?” “What does he know that I don’t?” Because when she talked to the executive, she didn’t think he was smarter or worked harder than herself, and he wasn’t much older than her.
Dawson asked herself, “What am I lacking?” she wanted to earn a million a year, not $55,000. And when she learned that number, she started observing the executive closely – his communication style, meeting practices, how he presented himself, and which projects he was involved in, among other things. Dawson realized that the executive’s way of engaging in everything was completely different from hers – he was engaged in work by assuming full responsibility.
Dawson said she would never forget one incident. The executive walked into a meeting halfway through, and Dawson thought he had no clue about the topic being discussed. However, within just two to three minutes, he completely altered the meeting’s direction to fit his vision perfectly. This amazed Dawson because from a professional and technical standpoint, he had no understanding of the topic under discussion, but his ability to control the situation stemmed from his complete ownership and sense of responsibility for driving the project forward.
So, when you find that your income is not meeting expectations, the quickest shortcut is to get close to those whose income matches your goals, observe and compare how they perform differently from you.
Stop treating your salary as a prize; it’s a tool in your hands, a tool for future opportunities. If you see your paycheck as a reward, you’ll feel like you’ve won something, deserve to celebrate, and then immediately squander it. This money should be a stepping stone for your progress, a powerful tool for securing your financial future.
Dawson recalled that when she dropped out of college, she had $3,500 in her bank account, and she felt extremely wealthy. Later on, she realized the costs of the real world. This realization hit her about a month after leaving school – various bills, utilities, car loans, and insurance all made her realize how poor she actually was. Since then, she developed a habit of frugality, such as buying only one extra roll of toilet paper at a time when purchasing household items because she had to save every penny. She understood that money is a tool for the future, not a consumable to satisfy immediate desires. Every dollar is precious.
Developing this discipline, especially at a young age, sets the foundation for your future success because you can trust yourself to manage money. If you can’t even trust yourself, you will never accumulate wealth. Truly wealthy individuals know how to utilize money. If you’re the type who spends all the money as soon as you get it, showing no self-control in impulsive consumption, why would someone entrust their wealth to you? You’ll waste the money, letting it slip away. On the other hand, disciplined individuals with long-term vision can save funds to capitalize on opportunities when they arise.
Dawson revealed that she still maintains a frugal mindset to this day. For example, even though she has enough money to buy piles of razor blades, she still doesn’t change the blade frequently. Because during her upbringing, she always thought razor blades were expensive, so she went six months without changing the razor blade until it became dull and caused cuts. One day, her wealthy husband asked her, “Natalie, why do you always use the same razor?” That’s when Dawson realized that her husband threw away the razor every time he used it. Comparing their approaches, she realized she was deeply trapped in a scarcity mindset.
However, this scarcity mindset made her confident in herself. The core concept is preparing for the next opportunity with your salary. If you spend recklessly, you can never be prepared. The key lies in reducing living expenses as much as possible, avoiding unnecessary expenses and large expenditures. View your salary as a springboard for future investment growth.
Today’s sacrifice allows you to bear any future cost, rooted in financial discipline. To shape your future self, you must make sacrifices in the present. No successful person with substantial financial power has ever succeeded without paying a price. So, what sacrifices are you willing to make today?
If you are someone who takes your goals seriously, understanding this principle makes it easy to reject luxury Uber rides or fancy dinners. If building discipline, shaping and constructing your ideal future confidence only requires these sacrifices, it’s not that difficult. So, be willing to pay the price willingly.
At this moment, open your bank account, and you’ll surely find several areas that need to be cut back. Are you willing to go through a six-month period of scarcity to shape your future self – the person who controls where the money goes, bank balances, and creates opportunities? When the question is this simple, the answer is certainly yes. So, take action today. When you open your bank account, which areas need sacrifices?
Imagine you’re writing a book about yourself. Your future self will be able to tell others about your experiences with scarcity, making voluntary sacrifices, such as sleeping on the floor, being unable to afford Christmas gifts, working 20 hours a day, making the whole process seem romantic. Of course, when you’re in it, it doesn’t feel romantic. But the key is whether you can tell this story well and convince yourself of the meaning of sacrifice. So, prepare this story well.
Choosing discipline over indulgence is the key to shaping your character, building confidence, accumulating wealth – essential elements for elevating your life.
Economic dependency destroys trust and your power. No one will come to save you, including your future partner. Even if you meet someone with better financial conditions, you should never put yourself in a position of dependence on others. Dawson believes that mutual trust in money is precious in relationships. Imagine if your future partner would appreciate qualities like impulsive spending, lack of discipline, and excessive squandering. Unless the person intends to control you, no partner will rejoice in those traits.
To have confidence in yourself and your future relationships, you must take financial responsibility from today because no one will come to save you. Even if the other person has more resources, you must be prepared to be capable of managing finances at any time. This means cultivating discipline from now. Understanding your financial situation and maintaining financial discipline is not only wise but also a highly attractive quality. If you want to spend the rest of your life with someone who trusts you greatly, you must become a trustworthy individual. Do your spending habits reflect this credibility? If the answer is no, how do you correct it? Treat your salary and finances as something to value from today.