Dennis Felix's Advice on being filthy rich

"Money won’t get you contentment, happiness, love or peace.” As a warning, Dennis Felix, the billion dollar magazine empire builder admits, in the very beginning of his book. In and of itself, great wealth very rarely, if ever, breeds contentment.

Wealth, according to Felix, gives you only one thing: Freedom. If freedom is what you want, becoming independently wealthy is the only way to do it.

For Felix, this independence meant never having to worry about money, spending 100s of millions on cocaine and mistresses, and having time to write poetry. For the British mogul, the following ideas were the key to becoming the "filthy rich":

#1  Execution > ideas: Great ideas are overrated; execution is what counts- basically getting good at ‘doing things’. Choose an industry where the current is new (they offer low start-up costs with higher opportunities) and experiment there. Execute, fail, execute better.

#2  Cut out negative influences: The naysayers- cut them out. Because they don’t want you to be rich. Not that they’re evil, but they will (1) paralyze you with 'ifs' and 'buts', and (2) they fear that should you succeed, they will have to face their own timidity. Cut them out.

#3  Fear nothing. 'If the odds of getting rich scare you then you deserve to stay poor. To put it more kindly, whether you deserve it or not, you will stay poor”. Felix knows that “statistics”, odds and reminder of failures are scary. Felix’s advice- grow a carapace.

#4  Ownership is everything. In the race to get rich, Nothing counts but what you own. Regardless of skill, talent, or luck, if you insist on owning more than your share of any start-up/acquisition, then you can become rich.

#5  Never, ever, ever give in. Felix’s first magazine failed publicly and catastrophically. Before he could be upset, he moved on to his next publishing idea- a Bruce Lee exclusive that went on to get him millions. His strategy- "be an old, punch-drunk boxer who would never quit".

#6  Know the cost: Getting rich is hard work. If you aren't prepared to work longer than anyone you know, if you think you're not good enough to be rich, if you can't face failure, if you can't treat money-making like a game, you won't be rich. Know what you're signing up for.

In the race to get rich, there are always people you need to be wary of. Read about the wolves in sheep's clothing here-

https://memod.com/VaishnaviGupta/a-wolf-in-sheep-s-clothing-understanding-covert-ag-4238

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