I recently read “The Millionaire Dropout: Fire Your Boss. Do What You Love. Reclaim Your Life.” by Vince Stanizone. I was walking through the Chicago-Midway airport in between flights and I stopped at the book store. This book immediately caught my eye. I picked it up, read the back cover and put it back. I left the book store for about 20 minutes to get something to eat and then came back and bought it.
I read most of it in the airport and on the flight back home, and then finished it the next day! The book is really interesting and easy to read. It is a great IDEA book, especially if you are looking for ways (and strategies) to work from home or start your own business.
The book has 31 chapters and is broken down into three parts.
Part One: Taking Control of Your Life – This part focuses on getting YOU right. He talks about everything from attitude, to getting in shape, to dressing for success and most importantly getting your thinking right.
Part Two: Making Money – This is the meat and potatoes in the book. Vince shares all kinds of great ways to make money in business, with a primary focus on mail order and direct marketing. It covers everything from setting up your business, to finding products, to selling them. There are also many advanced strategies.
Part Three: Saving Money – This neat section covers what to do with your money: how to save it and invest it. He covers everything from saving money on airfare, phone services, clothes, credit cards, and so much more.
More importantly, “The Millionaire Dropout” is loaded with Golden Nuggets. What I want to do below is share some of my favorite Vince Stanizone quotes from the book. They are listed in no particular order. Each quote is in bold. I also provide my own two cents after each quote.
# 1 If you work 14 hours per day it’s amazing how lucky you will become. Luck is determined by your own efforts – the blood, sweat, and tears we put into life. If you want to be lucky in luck, come up with a game plan, and then roll up your sleeves and do the work. You have to work smart, but nothing replaces hard work.
# 2 Success normally comes, not from one big change or action, but from lots of small successes that build into a big success. Little things done consistently over a period of time add up to really big things.
# 3 We stay in our comfort zone because it feels normal to us, and we’re scared of failure, embarrassment, and change. Fear or failure holds most people back in life. Most people would rather play it safe than step out and take a chance at something they have never tried before, even if it is a great opportunity.
# 4 Unless you know what you want to achieve, you’ll never get it. Successful people know what they want in life and then they go out and get it. You won’t just wake up one day and be successful by accident.
# 5 We must also realize that the right long-term decision will not always be the easiest in the short-term. There are times when you have to endure short-term pain for long-term gain. To be successful, you need vision. You must see things before they exist. All of your decision must be based on your long-term goals, not the temporary problem at hand.
# 6 The main thing that stops people from taking action is the fear of the unknown. Do not let fear paralyze you. Instead, let it be your motivator. Most things you fear will never come true anyway.
# 7 Skeptics are all around us. They look for the flaws in a scheme, and don’t believe in anything they don’t understand. Ignore the nay-sayers and haters like the plague. Don’t let anybody steal your dream; even your spouse. Instead, surround yourself with people who encourage you and uplift you.
# 8 When you ask for an opinion or advice, you need to qualify the person who is giving the advice. Be careful who you listen to. You might end up just like them. Listen to people who have what you want and are already successful.
# 9 Don’t be angry or jealous of people who are doing better than you. Admire them, congratulate them, find out their secrets and copy them. Find people who have what you want in life and then model their behavior. That is the quickest way to success.
# 10 In life you have to make opportunities. Opportunities rarely just appear out of thin air. Don’t sit around waiting for one to be presented to you. Go out there and make it happen.
# 11 Humans are not designed to sit in front of a computer for eight hours a day! Get away from your computer and go meet people!
# 12 Whatever profession you are in and however menial you feel your job is, act as though it is the most important job in the world and do it to the best of your abilities. Take pride in what you do. What you do in your current job/business is a reflection of what you will do in your next job.
# 13 Knowledge without action is worthless. Applied knowledge is what matters most. There are lots of educated derelicts in the world. There is a difference between knowing how to do something and actually going out and doing it.
# 14 You can’t sell something to someone who doesn’t have any money! Make sure you pick a niche with people who want what you have and have the money to buy what you are selling.
# 15 Most people spend very little time choosing their careers and employers. Most people spend more time planning their annual vacation than they do planning their life.
# 16 You’ll never excel in a profession if your heart isn’t 110% in it! Do what you love and the money will follow. Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.
# 17 When you earn money over time, it will taste a lot better than if you inherit it or win the lottery. People rarely appreciate what is given to them.
# 18 Your bank works for you. They are your servant, not vice-versa. Find a bank that treats you like gold and wants your business, not one that makes you jump through hoops.
# 19 You don’t want to go into competition with Tesco or Wal-mart. We’re not interested in low margins or price wars. You want a business with high profit margins so you can sell fewer products to better quality customers and still make a nice profit.
# 20 The biggest mistake people make in business is doing little or no research into the product they’re selling and market they’re selling to. Don’t create a product and then try and figure who you are going to sell it to. Pick a market first. Find out what products or services they want and then give it to them.
# 21 People buy what they want, not what they need. Never forget this. Never forget that people are emotional creatures. Use emotion, not logic in your sales materials.
# 22 Having too much money in business is worse than having a limited starting budget. When you are low on funds it forces you to be creative and think outside of the box. Having tons of capital for your business can be a curse.
# 23 Being poor is one of the best motivations for success. Not having money is a good reason to start a business, not a reason to keep you from doing it.
# 24 A lesson I learned very quickly is that selling your product too cheaply is always worse than selling it for too much. Price your products and services based upon the value they provide, not how much they cost to make.
# 25 It’s not always about how many products you sell. It’s about the profit you make. Profit is king. Profit is the only thing that matters in your business.
# 26 Keeping in regular contact with your customers is very important. The money is in the follow up! It’s easier to sell more products to your current customers than it is to go out and find new customers.
# 27 View your customers as your friends and genuinely care. Treat your customers as well as you would treat your own mother.
# 28 Business is nothing without advertising and marketing. Your product or service is not your real business. Marketing and advertising your product or service is your REAL business. No product sells itself.
# 29 No matter what business you are in, sales are your lifeblood. As a business owner, you are a salesman! Your real job is to make the cash register ring.
# 30 Most customers don’t buy on first contact. Most people need to see your message 10-20 times before they buy. That’s why you need to follow up with them.
# 31 A one off sale will make you money, but a lifetime customer will make you rich. Never forget the life-time value of a customer. The real money in any business is in repeat orders.
Once again, these are just a few of my favorite quotes from his book. I have MANY other passages that are highlighted and underlined that I didn’t include here.
About the Book
The book is written by Vince Stanizone and published by Wiley. It is copyrighted in 2013. It contains 241 pages. It retails for $18 and is available anywhere books are sold.
Buy the Book
About Vince
Vince Stanizone is a self-made multi-millionaire from the United Kingdom. He is active in the telecommunications, publishing and financial trading industry. Visit his website.
Final Thoughts
In summary, “The Millionaire Dropout” by Vince Stanizone is a very good book. Overall, I give it 4 of 5 stars and think it is a must read for anyone who owns a business or is thinking about starting their own business. If you haven’t read it yet, you should.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
My favorite quote is #1, very helpful and relevant. “If you work 14 hours per day it’s amazing how lucky you will become.”
If you spend even 2-3 productive hours, let alone 14 hours, in your business each day, you’ll see a huge difference in your business.
Once I remember reading a quote along the lines of “the harder you work, the luckier you get”. In most cases, luck is earned, and you create your own. If you want something, work for it, and you’ll have it.
Thanks for sharing!
It’s true for me. The harder I work the luckier I do get.
The part one about taking control of your life is the part that most people struggle with; particularly the mindset. People are filled with such negativity and they allow that to cloud their minds and keep them from moving into a position where they are controlling their own destiny. I like that a whole section is dedicated to trying to get people to become better as individuals first before even focusing on the business aspect.
For things to get better we have to get better.
I love reading books from someone who has been there and done that.
It sounds like Vince is someone who came up similar to how I was raised. The tips and information he provides is perfect for a person like myself. I believe I did read some of this book some time ago, but after seeing this review, I believe I need to reread it.
I noticed how much Vince talks about getting out of our comfort zones. Life is similar to gambling. We have to take some chances to gain success. If we don’t jump in the water, we will not know if it is warm or cold, or how deep it is. The only way to really get ahead is the same as the folks at Nike say: Just Do It!
Yes, this is a really good book, even though Vince is not a fan of our industry.