The Millionaire Dropout summary

Ever heard the phrase “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”? It basically means that the loudest problems get the most attention.

People blame their unhappiness on all sorts of issues, but the real culprit is usually much less obvious: they’ve never sat down and defined what they actually want in life. It’s like going to a travel agency and saying you want to be sent somewhere nice where you’ll find a great job, a perfect partner and where you’ll be happy – a vague wish that’s pretty much impossible to fulfill.

The human mind is a bit like a memory stick. When we’re born, it’s blank, but as we grow, we gradually fill it with new skills and ideas. Some of the files we add, however, contain negative and hurtful comments, from adults who told us we were too clumsy to play soccer or not clever enough to be good at math.

Those comments often end up creating negative feedback loops that hold us back later in life. But while the human brain doesn’t have a delete button, it can be rewired. Let’s see how you can record new, positive suggestions over those bad memories.

Life is all about making calls. Many of the things that happen to you – good and bad – can be traced back to past decisions. Chances are, a fair few of your choices still haunt you. But it’s not just hindsight that’s twenty-twenty – in fact, decision-making can be just as effective, as long as you apply the right techniques.

Take the so-called “Ben Franklin Method.” Say you’ve been offered a job in Germany, but you’re not sure whether to take it. Write down all the “pros” in one column, and all the “cons” in another. Give each factor – “better pay” versus “losing contact with old friends,” for example – a value from one to ten in terms of importance. All you have to do then is count up the numbers and see which side has the higher score.

The American billionaire John Paul Getty was savvy about making money. His view? No one ever got rich working for someone else. In a sense, though, you’re already self-employed – the company you work for is a means to an end, and if you didn’t get paid, you’d stop showing up. That means that you’re working for yourself, but giving someone else most of the profits!

That’s a great reason to consider ditching the nine-to-five slog and striking out on your own, but it’s not the only one. The world of work has changed dramatically in recent decades, and the old rules no longer apply. Even if you wanted it, steady lifelong gigs ending with a pat on the back and a gold watch when you retire barely exist anymore.

First things first: quitting your job and going it alone is a big call, and only you can decide if it’s the right one. Before you take the plunge, answer these questions: Is your job fulfilling? Is the pay good? Would you continue doing it even if you didn’t need the money? If any of the answers are “no,” it’s time to get out for your own good. After all, unhappy people overeat, drink, smoke too much and – eventually – burn out.

So where do you start if you’ve decided you’re ready? Well, it’s time to learn about mail order commerce. The author has good reason to call it the greatest business model in the world – it’s how he made his millions. Here’s how it works.

Marketing expert Gary Hebert often plays a game with his audiences when he gives talks. What, he asks, would they choose as their advantage if they ran a burger stand in competition with his burger operation. The usual answers? The biggest stall, the best meat or the most prime location. Hebert concludes by telling them the advantage he’d chose: a hungry crowd.

It might seem like an obvious point, but billions of dollars are squandered every year by businesses that have forgotten Hebert’s lesson – you can only sell something if there’s an appetite for it. So, here’s your first maxim if you’re considering the mail order game: know your market, and decide what you’re going to sell accordingly.

The best mail-order products are small, lightweight, sturdy enough to survive transportation and hard to find locally. Most importantly, they’ll have a high perceived value, and they cost little to produce. In this blink, we’ll take a look at one type of product that fits the bill.

Think back to all those people searching for “golf swing” on Google. What they were after was information. It’s one of the most sought-after products out there, and people pay good money for it. Best of all, getting it to market doesn’t require massive outlays. The author, for example, remembers once selling a four-page document for $65. The production costs? 65 cents for the paper and ink!

By now you should have a good idea of how to start generating new income. But here’s the thing: looking after what you already have is just as important as making money. Shopping, in other words, is a skill, and buying smart makes all the difference. It’s the reason some folks get along just fine on $50,000 a year, and others struggle with $250,000.

The key is becoming more mindful about your consumer choices. It’s all about taking a step back before splashing out and asking yourself a simple question: Do you really need this, or is it an impulse purchase?