Four books that will help you get rich: personal experience of a millionaire

Jonathan Sanchez is a millionaire and co-founder of Parent Portfolio, a website that helps families learn how to grow wealth and raise financially responsible children. The self-sufficient millionaire shared in a CNBC article the titles of 4 books that helped him get rich as a young man. What follows is a first-person story.

For a long time, I had a mindset associated with a lack of money. But thanks to reading, I managed to change the way I think about finances. I invested in real estate, started a small business and eventually became a millionaire at the age of 37.

I have found that the life lessons we learn from books help us achieve our goals faster, especially if they show us how not to repeat the mistakes of others.

Four books that helped me get rich:

1. Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki

Main lesson: Wealth is more about time than money.

Kiyosaki is an entrepreneur and author of 27 personal finance books. In Rich Dad, Poor Dad, he suggests switching your mindset from “I can’t afford it” to “How can I afford it.”

This point of view made me look for solutions to obstacles, instead of thinking that something is simply unattainable.

I used to think that wealth is the amount of money a person earns. Now I see it in how much time money can buy. This new mindset inspired me to create new passive sources of income: a website and a real estate business.

On the subject: Personal experience: how I got rich following these 5 tips from millionaires

2. The E-Myth Enterprise, Michael E. Gerber

Main lesson: you need to work on your business, not get stuck in it.

Gerber is a business coach and entrepreneur. In The E-Myth Enterprise, he says one of the biggest mistakes business owners make is taking on too many tasks, such as daily routines, which leads to burnout.

When my wife and I first started Parent Portfolio (a website that helps families learn how to create wealth), we managed it ourselves. We did everything ourselves – from design to content creation and social media marketing.

But once the site started generating revenue, we developed standard operating procedures, hired freelance writers and virtual assistants, which allowed us to focus on other growth opportunities.

3. The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, Gary Keller

Main lesson: money enhances who you already are.

Keller founded the real estate firm Keller Williams, which is one of the largest in the world. In The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, he argues that money doesn’t make people evil. On the contrary, they are the enhancer of our present personality.

If a person already has a bad habit of spending money, then having more money is likely to encourage them to spend even more. If a person is charitable and loves to help people, then having money gives him more opportunities to do good. You should always try to lean towards the latter option.

My wife and I both come from very humble backgrounds and are still very frugal and consider ourselves very blessed to have reached this financial milestone. But even more important is the work we are doing now in teaching people how to build generational wealth.

4. The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch

Biggest Lesson: don’t be afraid to take action.

Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In 2007, he gave a lecture titled “The Real Achievement of Childhood Dreams.” The lecture is very touching, especially considering that he died in 2008 at the age of only 47.

When I read his book The Last Lecture, one thing that caught my eye was that he was never afraid to try new things. I took this advice to heart.

Ten years ago, my wife offered to buy an apartment and rent it out. But I was afraid, I justified myself, and in the end I regretted that I had not taken advantage of this opportunity. Then, in 2019, we bought our first investment property and acquired two more within a year and a half. Today we have four.

To act means not to be afraid of disappointments. In one year, I analyzed more than 50 properties, made five offers, and all of them were outbid by other investors. But I don’t see my failures as failures. Each setback has helped me create a richer and happier life.