“If your only goal is to become rich… you will never achieve it.”  —John D. Rockefeller.

Wait, what? 

Was ol’ John D getting a bit senile when he said that? 

Hmmm… 

Well, since he was one of the richest people to ever live, perhaps we should take a closer look at this seemingly contradictory statement and see if there is anything we can learn from it.

The Path to Getting Rich is Counter-intuitive

Since we can’t ask Rockefeller exactly what he meant when he said this, I’m going to have to make a couple of assertions and you can decide if they ring true for you or not.

1.  “To be rich” is too vague 

If you spend your time just thinking about what it would be like to be rich or what you’d do with the money, nothing is ever really going to happen.

It’s unlikely that you’ll take action because you’re stuck in dream-mode.

And in order to actually be rich or successful, you have to focus on the process of getting there

The key word is: Process.

In other words, you have to create an action plan and follow it step-by-step, developing the skills you need along the way, and making timely decisions.

Wealth is a result of providing value to others.
Wealth is a result of providing value to others.

What’s in an Action Plan?

An action plan contains all the main steps you need to accomplish in order to reach your target goal.

Basically, the most important items that you need to take action on.

This will include all the main tasks you need to do, the conversations you need to have, the decisions you need to make, skills you need to learn, materials to purchase, etc. 

Just focus on the main steps in your action plan. The smaller steps will take care of themselves when you do some quick weekly or daily planning.

And if you want to know more, click here to learn how to create an action plan and to get some strategies you can use to make sure you follow it through.


 2.  Wealth is a result of providing value to others.

You may have heard this before, and you may have heard it often, but that’s because it’s true.

Proving value to other people is a mindset shift.

And it’s one that most wealthy and successful people talk about as essential for their journey.

Wealth results from solving other people’s problems or providing for their needs, and then doing that incredibly well. 

Over and over and over again.

The bottom line is, when you relentlessly work to provide value to others, success will inevitably follow.

“Anybody who succeeds, is helping people.  The secret to success is find a need and fill it; find a hurt and heal it; find a problem and solve it.”  —Robert Schuller

Was John D Right About Getting Rich?

So, what do you think? 

Does this sound about right or have I missed the mark?

If you have something to add, leave a comment down below and start a discussion.  I’d love to hear from you.

And if you’re looking for some good money advice, here are seven smart money habits that anyone can do.

To your success!

Nigel Cook
Accountability Coach

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