What does it feel like?

I have a question for those who have already made 6 figures or millions. What did it feel like when you reached that milestone? Was it a momentous as I think it'll be? I keep thinking that when I reach a huge milestone like that I'll be dancing in the street even if it's 2 degrees and snowing.

-Andrew

What seems momentous to me is looking back. The constant adjustments in plans and expectations seems to have kept a damper on the results as they happened.

When I reached the 1M milestone, it no longer seemed as exciting and I was looking forward to something higher. The 25M range is what seems exciting to me now.

I have celebrated the concepts as I reflect, but looking forward is all about changes and adjustments. The present isn't bad though.

The nice thing about continued accomplishment is that you eventually learn to *expect* success and stop learning to expect failure. So, by the time you're making six figures, you've already come to expect it will happen. And by the time you're making seven figures, you've come to expect that.

Not saying it doesn't feel good...but it won't be a one-time surprise as you seem to think it will be...

Yeah that's what I thought. The only people that would feel this one-time suprise is lottery winners.

They say that money won always feels better than money earned. I haven't won anything substantial so I can't tell ya if this is true. There is probably some truth to it which explains why lottery winners often go broke years later.

For myself, each milestone that I hit, I celebrated. For me the milestones were based on liquidity (cash in short-term investments, mutual funds, bonds, etc.). When I hit $1m, I was happy but it certainly wasn't a party because I realized something: A millionaire today ($1m) is really upper middle class. Millionaires do well but they're not living large like Hollywood likes to portray (private jets, 10,000 sq feet houses etc.). To coin the book, these types of "millionaires" are what the "Millionaire Next Door" looks like -- upper middle class.

At $2mm, I was a bit more celebratory as at that level things can start gaining momentum as your investments start to accelerate as compound interest starts to make more of an impact.

When I hit $5mm, I experienced the "feeling" I think you would expect. Forbes classifies $5mm liquid as "Rich" and I was starting to feel it.

At $10m I didn't do nothing because the milestone was temporary, at least until Uncle Sam comes calling for his cut. But I did celebrate the sale of my business and that was the BEST feeling of all of them!

Now that I am free of my business, the idea of pursuing my dreams of writing books and screenplays is like winning the lottery. The idea of starting another company, nurturing it, and watching it grow is like an addiction. These are the types of "feelings" that motivate and inspire me. If I do these things well, the money will follow and new milestones will fall.

For each milestone you set for yourself, celebrate them in some fashion -- a vacation, a doo-dad, a massage ... doesn't matter! Celebration, or experiencing that feeling of accomplishment is very important.

I recommend setting short, achievable goals. Perhaps the 1st goal is getting out of debt. Perhaps the second is having $1k in net worth. Perhaps the third is your first customer in your new business.

If you have to climb a mountain, looking at the top is not the best idea. Look at the first few climbs. Then the next. Then the next. Be diligent with this, and eventually, you will find yourself at the top of the mountain.

I had a beer that a friend brought me from Germany. Another friend gave me a real Cuban cigar. I kept both of those on my desk, and was saving them for the 1 million mark. When I did hit the mark, I was in denial (or tough on myself) thinking that fairly I was not a millionaire because if I sold it all I would get hit with the taxes which would reduce the net worth. So when I surpassed the mark, and it was obvious, I opened up that beer. Yuck! Beer is only so good for so long. The cigar was all dried up (shoulda got that humidor). I did save the can though! It's good to reward and recognize yourself when you achieve your goals, small or large.

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it feels like my work is never done

I remember the year when I first realized that I had made 6 figures. It instantly made me mad, as I was trying to figure out where the money went. Not trying to rain on your parade, but 6 figures really doesn't get you that far. It's a good milestone, but that's about it.

Oh well, now that I'm depressed again, I might as well go back to work and try to find some more money...

The point that made me stop and think
was when I realized if we made another dollar,
our lifestyle wouldn't change.

No we don't have millions
(only a million)
but we aren't into big houses, fancy cars, or even fancy restaurants
(I'm a burger and fries type of gal)
so we're happy on $100,000 a year.
Everything else gets plowed back into investments.

When I'm asked what I would do if we won a million dollars,
I think to myself
"I'd buy more of my ice stock."

speed +++ just because this thread has been very insightful great question

I am looking forward to that feeling eventually. I'm just implementing the whole startup phase of the business. That is, the business plan and model, the products, and slowly but quietly building up the client list to accomplish all this. I am beginning operations with a very very low overheard cost and so far nothing bad has happened. Granted, it has not been put out there to the public, yet. I will come back to this forum when I cross that first milestone and then the next. I can certainly say that when I hit those, I will be exuberant. And that first initial feeling of the rush is what I am pursuing and what will keep me going through all the tough times that inevitably lay ahead.

Great stuff. I just posted parts of this on my website; if you object, just let me know and I'll take it down.

For me, when I hit about 1.35M-1.5M, I'll buy myself a celebratory LP640.... needless to say, I look forward

As for now though, first things first: continue to bust @ss to make it happen

The really big, exciting celebration for me was when my business was making enough to allow me to quit my day job. This was well before I was anywhere near 1 million in net worth, but it meant that I was free to set my own schedule and pursue my own goals. I still celebrate my "independence day" each year by taking the day off to get drunk and watch Office Space.

Net worth milestones just aren't that exciting to me. I have to agree with everyone else in that once you get to a certain goal it doesn't seem like as big a deal and you're already looking ahead to the next one. I did celebrate when I hit $1 million, but it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be.

The important milestones for me now are when my businesses hit certain targets for annual profit. Building a system that brings in $x per year is much more exciting to me than saving up $x in a bank account. I now set my yearly goals and associated celebrations based on this.

Whatdya doing holdin back on us? Where's your success story in the success forum!?!

I've been thinking about writing one for a while... Just dragging my feet while I decide how many details I want to share. I'll post one eventually!

I can only humbly respond to the query about 6 figures, as I've not quite yet crossed the 7-figure milestone. Not sure whether the question was in regards to income or net worth. But in any case, I can't honestly remember anything especially earth-shattering about either one... even when both crossed the mid-6 figure mark. I always expected it (MUCH sooner than it came to fruition) so when I finally noticed that it had happened, my response was more one of "Well it's about damned time!" than it was surprise or excitement.

I've been blessed to make 6 figures since I was 25ish (almost 20 years ago!! Argh!) So, I'm frankly rather disgusted that, upon reflection, I've managed it so poorly. Oh, I've had a good time. But I'm still working a job I hate.

Thanks to RD and this forum and the inspiration and encouragement of the folks on this forum whom I've been so blessed to meet, the next few steps should be significantly faster. But I've never been surprised. I've always expected it.

I didn't even realize I had crossed the 6 figure net worth mark until probably 6 months after it actually happened. I guess I wasn't watching too closely, and was focussed on other things. When I realized it had happened, I was kind of in disbelief because I had planned for this exact scenario to unfold for several years -- but I couldn't believe that things had actually gone according to my plan, more or less. I was expecting another huge setback or failure, because I've had so many in the past every time I thought I was getting close.

I know several guys here who are worth in the $500k+ range, based on a couple of ridiculous real estate deals that appreciated like wildfire during the housing bubble. My puny low 6 figure net worth is all earned the "hard way" though, so it's probably as meaningful to me as $1 million is to some others. If you had told me 7 or 8 years ago when I was $40-50k in the hole that I would be able to not only get out of debt, and but a 6 figure net worth -- I would have probably laughed at you.... JScott is right -- changing your personality to be one with a culture of SUCCESS is probably the hardest thing... When you've been used to failure for so, so, so long -- it feels absolutely bizarre to switch over to getting used to success.

Cheers,

- Hakrjak

You are sooooo like the doctor in Cashflow 101... haha They seem to take the longest to exit the rat race.

- Hakrjak

I just know that last time I played Cashflow, it was NOT pretty!!!