2 Degrees of Get Rich Quick

2 Degrees of Get Rich Quick

Have you ever played the 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon?  It is a fantastic game for a cinephile to play, where you name an actor/actress, and then you must connect them to Kevin Bacon within 6 moves.  It also makes you realize how many freaking movies that guy has been in, quite a legendary career (Footloose definitely being my favorite).

I bring this up as I was having an interesting discussion the other day, yea I’m a loser, I get it, with someone about their finances.  Disclaimer, it was not a client, just a conversation at my daughter’s volleyball weekend, and for those who know, you need something to pass the time.  Anyway, the conversation was about how I thought the best way to get rich was.  My answer, that no one wants to hear, was slow and steady wins the race. 

Easy Isn’t Always Fast

Now, whenever I tell someone that getting rich is easy, it just takes time, dedication, resolve, and hard work, they move on to the next conversation.  It is like telling someone losing weight is simple: wake up at 5 am, go to the gym for an hour, stop eating crap, and the weight will come dripping off. They roll their eyes.

The truth is in both examples that is the answer, and although the answer is easy, the solution may be hard.  This is where I had my 2 degrees of get-rich-quick.  You see, the problem when it comes to finances, I believe, isn’t that people don’t know what to do.  Rather, the issue is they are all 2 stinking degrees removed from someone who got rich quickly.

Think about it.  Who doesn’t have a friend of a friend who made a billion dollars on Bitcoin?  Or have a friend who won the lottery or perhaps hit a 10-leg parlay on their DraftKings account.  How about the guy who bought tons of Nvidia stock on a whim and now has millions in the stuff?  What and who are your 2 degrees of get-rich-quick because we all have one?

Now, when you think about that person, half the time you are thinking, if that dope can do it, I sure as heck can.  Then the envy and the fomo kick in, and that is where the magic happens, and by magic, I mean we buck every smart thing we know about finances and start the hamster wheel chase to get rich quickly ourselves.  The problem, however, is that they are the outliers and not the mean.  Like my buddy Drew growing up, the kid ate whatever he wanted and always had a 6-pack. Stuff wasn’t fair, and a terrible plan for me to get a 6 pack (which I’ve never had) would be to follow his brilliant plan.

The reality is that most of these “get rich quick” individuals simply got lucky, and knowing they are the aberration is something we all need to hear.  The other thing you need to hear is that you are only hearing one side of the story.  They aren’t promoting the 200 losers they’ve had or totally lost money on.  You also don’t hear when they sold and captured those wins, as half the time they give all these winnings right back, as they fail to see the pattern recognition that got them there.  The fact is, in 99.9% of the situations where someone has gotten rich quickly, the overriding trait is luck.

Don’t believe me?

If you don’t believe me, go search out the wealthiest person you know, like super freaking rich.  Once you find them, go ask if they got rich quickly or not?  I’d be willing to bet you dinner at the restaurant of your choosing is they would tell you how incredibly hard it was to get to where they are.  How many failures and 80-hour work weeks did it take? How many sacrifices and time away from their family did they have to make?  Additionally, not a day went by that they didn’t have a knot in their stomach that could all come crashing down. 

Now, those are the conversations and the 2 degrees you should be seeking out, trying to emulate.  Because not only did they execute a real plan, but in my experience, that is the surest way to “get rich,” albeit not quickly. 

My caution to you is to figure out what success or wealth means to you and then find someone you truly respect and admire to talk with to realize what it takes and if you are up for the challenge. 

As always, stay wealthy, healthy, and happy.