Self-made millionaire Timothy Sykes learned through experience the three key things that lead to long-term financial success.
Credit: Colourbox
I’ve made millions in the stock market, written the bestselling book, “An American Hedge Fund,” used the money to live well and travel all over the world and now my top student just passed $2 million in profits last week. And I’m only 33 years old. I know a thing or two about success. Here are my top three tips to help you succeed:
Tip #1: Study and work hard
Some people find success through sheer luck with little work or effort, but the odds of that happening to you are very slim. The majority of the world only dreams of being successful, but they don’t give themselves much of a chance with the decisions they make. Don’t make that mistake.
To increase your odds of being successful, be prepared to study and work harder than you ever thought possible. That’s not to say excelling at high school, college or a 9 to 5 job will help you become successful, you can’t just go the normal route and expect to get ahead. I’m talking about dreaming big and focusing on less commonly taught areas of interest. Do what you love, even if it’s weird, just as I have excelled at penny stock trading and now blogging. Some of the most successful people I know think way outside the box, but because of their determination and work ethic, they’ve made it.
Tip #2: Embrace failure and learn from it
No matter what your passion is, you will screw up somewhere along the way. Far too many people get discouraged and let one or two failures stop them or slow them down. In the past, I’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the stock market when I broke my trading rules and I was ridiculed by the press and my industry and became very depressed. But I pulled myself back up by re-focusing and abiding by the rules that made me successful at first and I used my mistakes to learn what not to do.
We all make mistakes from time to time, but successful people learn not to fear them, but to accept and learn from them to become even better. Someone who hasn’t made a mistake isn’t a true expert; their education is stunted due to their perfection. By making mistakes, we get wiser and can use that education to become more successful.
Tip #3: Patience is key
Thanks to social media, these days it’s possible to become an overnight sensation, but these cases are few and far between. No matter how good you are at something, don’t you dare expect immediate success and recognition, perfect your craft, hone your skills and have patience.
It’s actually better to have success later down the road as overnight celebrities and people who win the lotto often can’t deal with their newfound fame and fortune and lose it very quickly. If you study and work hard for years, sometimes decades, and find success later in your journey, you’ll be able to handle the recognition much better and the feeling will be that much sweeter knowing you put in the time and effort to deserve it all.
Things I Liked:
1. Controversial mayor Rob Ford quit the Toronto mayoral race for health reasons; kids, drugs do take a toll eventually.
2. The ridiculous costumes of London Fashion Week prove you don’t have to grow up…ever.
3. The US has imposed serious sanctions on Russia’s oil industry; FINALLY we’re hitting them where they actually feel it.
Up:
Apple released details of their next iPhone and upcoming new product the Apple Watch. I’m not convinced about the watch, but I’ve already pre-ordered the new iPhone!
Down:
Adrian Peterson has been booked on child abuse charge, just the latest NFL player embroiled in domestic controversy. When are we going to learn the monsters this sports creates endangers society?
For more financial advice from Timothy Sykes, go totimothysykes.com.
