By Michael Dinich – Ladders

If you speak to a millionaire, they won’t brag about achieving their net worth. Becoming a millionaire is only a byproduct of hard work. And more of a milestone rather than a finish line.

Instead, they spend more time than not sharing their life experiences and journey. They love to mentor and also believe that others can reach a new higher level of success.

The fact you’re here reading this article already proves what kind of mindset you possess. You’re showing you want to learn from the experiences of those you wish to emulate.

One of the many ways to become a millionaire is through entrepreneurship.

Here are two books that every millionaire has read that revolve around the entrepreneurship spirit: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist tells the story of a shepherd boy named Santiago who pursues a great treasure, which he believes is at the foot of Egyptian pyramids. During his travels, he meets different characters that help him reflect upon himself that ultimately encourages him to keep going.

One of the notable characters is Santiago’s father, who tries to convince Santiago to stay. The father attempts to list all the benefits of not leaving, although the father once had dreams to travel the world. Santiago can win his father’s approval by becoming a shepherd, which allows him to earn a living and travel the world.

In this instance, Santiago was a problem solver. Similarly, entrepreneurs and small business owners also need to be problem solvers. They have no boss but themselves. Their level of success is directly proportional to the amount of effort their willing to put in. Thus, the term “hustle.”

Another notable character is the crystal merchant, who Santiago worked for after getting rob and losing his sheep. Santiago hustled and made a good commission. Additionally, he was able to set aside extra money to buy new sheep. Unfortunately, it would take him a year before he would have enough to purchase new sheep at the pace he was going.

Once again, Santiago became a problem solver and came up with an idea of generating more sales. His recommendation to the merchant was to display the crystals in high-traffic areas. However, the crystal merchant did not like the idea because he was scared someone might bump into the display and destroy his merchandise. Santiago told the crystal merchant he would lose sheep while he was a shepherd, and it’s just part of the business.

Santiago proved to have a growth mindset by finding ways to overcome obstacles. While the crystal merchant was too scared to change, Santiago created more income by driving more traffic to convert to sales.

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber

The E-Myth Revisited shares a baker’s story who recently started a business. The baker goes through common struggles of other business owners, leading many companies to close within five years of opening.

The author aims to dispel romanticizing entrepreneurship and debunk the myth that just working hard is enough. Instead, the author emphasizes that one should “work ON their business” than “work  IN their business” to succeed.

In the book, the baker starts their business excited and wakes up early to get everything ready. However, they become overwhelmed and begin to hate baking. They hire a manager to help with the workload.

Unfortunately, product quality decreases and many people decide to quit, including the manager, due to baker’s mismanagement and lack of compensation. The baker is on the brink of quitting.

Through the baker’s story, Gerber tries to show that although the baker worked hard and sacrificed their time, they ended up getting “burned out” and began hating what they once loved.

The solution Gerber proposes is to create a business that any business owner can sell as a franchise. The idea is to create a business model that people can duplicate without requiring specific business owners’ specific skill sets. The one company Gerber highlights as a good example is McDonald’s, the fast-food restaurant.

Owners can accomplish this strategy by creating simply repeatable processes performed by a machine or trained employee not requiring any special skill. This particular approach allows owners to focus on business activities, such as determining product margins, increasing customer acquisition, or developing more automated systems.

Final thoughts

Passion and hard work are essential to achieving success. However, the right kind of hard work is necessary. Otherwise, you’ll be sacrificing or wasting your time and energy.

Self-made millionaires are problem solvers and spend more of their time on their business than in their business. They have a mindset asking the question “How can I?” versus the statement “I can’t.”

So, how can you start making your millions?