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When Dan Lok was 14, he came to Canada as an “immigrant” – and even though Dan and his mother were immigrants, they lived more like refugees.
At the time, Dan and his mother would go to the bakery once a week right before the bakery was closed. There, they would buy all the discounted, near-expired bread they could. And they would stock up enough bread to eat 2 times a day for the rest of the week.
Dan hated seeing his mom live like that.
So from that point, providing for his mother became his entire world. That’s when Dan started his first business.
When Dan shared this part of his story, he said: “You would think after I started my first business, things would turn around from there. But they didn’t. Our lives got even darker.”
Before Dan knew it, he had 13 failed businesses.
He watched as his mother cried many times as Dan lost her entire life savings to his crazy business ideas. And soon after, Dan was $150,000.00 in debt and that’s without ever finishing college.
Eventually, things did turn around.
With a bit of luck, Dan met his first mentor Alan Jacques – the founder of the REIN (Real Estate Investment Network) – the largest real estate investment group in Canada. And with Alan’s help, Dan made $10k a month. Then $20k a month. Then $30K a month. Then eventually Dan made $50K a month and beyond.
Today, Dan is a self-made 8-figure entrepreneur.
The rest of this article is the actionable tips Dan would have shared with his younger self and the tips he would share with anyone who wants financial success.
Here Are The 7 Steps To Go From $0-To-8 Figures And Beyond:
Step 1. Develop Daily Success Habits
Being successful is a daily job.
Just like you won’t lose ten pounds from one trip to the gym, you cannot be successful by showing up once or twice. Success is a daily effort, and there are habits you should put into place that will help support a successful lifestyle.
For example, you should always immerse yourself in personal development – every single day. From listening to a podcast or reading a book to taking a course, there is always something to learn. Other success habits include exercise, sleep and silencing your cell phone while working. Find ways to incorporate productive and healthy habits into your daily routine.
Step 2. Develop a Strong Work Ethic
Unless you inherit 7-figures, do not expect it to come easy. Brilliant marketers may lead you to believe you can make millions overnight, but it is a myth.
It takes work and a lot of it.
You must get used to the idea that if you want to become rich, you will have to show up every day and work. You will have many early mornings and late nights. You may eat lunch while typing on your computer.
Getting rich is hard work, and the ones who get there have a strong work ethic. They show up, and they embrace the work that will make them millions. So, if you want to be a millionaire too, start working hard. Get used to working on a team. Develop your business acumen and do the work.
Step 3. Develop a High-Income Skill
A lot of people like to ask. “What business should I start?”
Dan’s answer is almost always: “Don’t start a business.”
The reason Dan advises against starting a business (for most) is that if you start a business without having skills, your chances of success are slim to none.
Instead, Dan recommends to first develop a High-Income Skill. A High-Income Skill is a skill you own for life where you can make $100k-$500k a year.
While a High-Income Skill does require trading your hours for money, you will be trading your hours for good money. And that High-Income Skill will provide you with income, comfort and stability. This is the first leg of Dan’s famous “Wealth Triangle™”.
When Dan first got started, Alan taught him the High-Income Skill of ‘copywriting’.
For you, your High-Income Skill can be anything you like.
You can develop High-Income Skills like social media management or SEO. It could even be something like teaching ballroom dancing or software engineering. As long as it can make you $10k a month, you have yourself a High-Income Skill.
Step 4. Find a Mentor
Once you have developed your skills and are making good money, you need a mentor.
A mentor is someone who has been there, done that and is now living the life you want to live. This person is not a coach. A mentor knows exactly what you need to do to get what you want because they have done it. And he or she will tell it to you straight. Now that you have the skills, you can exchange it for the knowledge a mentor will provide.
Take the time to find the right mentor, provide value in exchange for knowledge and then soak up as much expertise as you can.
For Dan, he found Alan Jacques. And after Alan Jacques, Dan was mentored by Dan Pena a.k.a. The $50-billion-dollar man.
Step 5. Expand your Skill Set
If you find the right mentor, you will learn a lot. That is the whole point of a mentor after all. With all of the knowledge you acquire, you can expand your High-Income Skills™ to include a variety of skill sets that earn you multiple six-figures.
For Dan, after he learned copywriting, he developed more High-Income Skills. For example, he got very good at internet marketing. Then consulting. Then closing High-Ticket Sales™. Then speaking on stage. Then selling on stage.
As Dan puts it: “The more skills you develop, the more your income will automatically grow.”
Step 6. Start a Scalable Business
The second leg of Dan’s famous Wealth Triangle™ is owning a business.
What most people don’t know is owning a business comes after developing the right High-Income Skills and learning what it takes to run a business from a mentor.
Once you have enough High-Income Skills that you are making a consistent $100k – $500k a year, it is time to start and grow a scalable business.
A scalable business is something you can grow without a lot of infrastructure (hiring people, overhead etc). Your scalable business is important because it provides you with cash-flow that comes from the systems of your business rather than your hours.
Step 7. Invest Wisely
The final step to hitting 8-figures and beyond is to invest your money.
Once your business has scaled and is bringing in lots of monthly cash-flow, it is time to make your money work for you. It is time to put your dollars into high-return investments (ones with an annual return of at least 10% year after year). These types of investments build your net worth. In the final leg of Dan’s Wealth Triangle™, your money now earns money for you.
Where To Go From Here
As Dan says: “Becoming financially successful takes time, dedication and mental strength. But it’s sure as hell worth it. Because I followed the system you just read about, my mom, my wife and millions of people now live better lives.”
His final piece of advice for people is instead of looking for business opportunities all the time, more people should look to developing their skills first. Then once you have a strong skillset, then you can have lasting success in business and invest afterward.
If you found this article valuable and you want a more detailed action-plan on making 6-figures, 7-figures or even 8-figures, then go to www.fumoney.com/webinar.
This is an online training Dan is holding – for the time being. In the training, you’ll get an even clearer understanding of how to use Dan’s Wealth Triangle™ in your life.
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