Today, I want to do a book review of “The Mark of a Millionaire: The Secrets to My Success” by Amway legend, Dexter Yager (and Ron Ball). Dexter has been in the network marketing industry 50 years now and he is one of the pioneers in the personal development industry. He has tons of great books and tapes to help people take control of their lives.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Even though it’s not specifically about network marketing, there are tons of nuggets about how to improve your life and start to think like a millionaire. What I want to do in the rest of this post is share some of my favorite quotes from the book. Each quote is in bold and italics. After each quote I will provide my own thoughts about each idea. Enjoy.
# 1 Successful people not only dream dreams, but they turn them into a plan of action. Dreaming is one thing. However, a dream will never become a reality if you aren’t willing to do the work. You must be a dreamer and a doer.
# 2 You’re a product of your choices. We’re all where we are at in our lives right now based upon the books we’ve read and the people we associated with. If you want to change your future, read good books and hang out with successful, positive people who uplift you.
# 3 Millionaires may own nice homes and cars (and even drink iced tea once in a while!), but they tend to be people who work, and work hard. You will seldom meet a lazy millionaire. Most people who make it big outwork everyone else. That’s why they became successful in the first place.
# 4 You can’t really be successful unless you enjoy the work you’re in and desire to work at it diligently. Love what you do and you will never work a day in your life.
# 5 I’ve often said that you make a living working eight to five; you make a fortune working after five. Your day job can pay your bills and provide you a decent standard of living. Keep your day job and work on your business after you come home from work. Working part-time a few hours per day can help you build a fortune.
# 6 There are two kinds of pain when it comes to success and work: either the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. This is some great advice. You can either suffer now or suffer later. It’s much smarter to be disciplined and work towards what you want in life, than be scared to take chances, and end up broke and miserable.
# 7 Success is hard work in disguise. Nothing replaces work hard. Work smart, but roll up your sleeves and do what most people aren’t willing to do.
# 8 If you’re willing to say “No exceptions,” you’ll attain your goal. You have to be “all in” if you want to make it big in life and in business. Adopt the “I can, I shall, I will” mindset and you will make it big.
# 9 One of the marks of a millionaire is the constant desire to improve and to do something better. Make it a point to learn something new and get a little bit better every single day of your life.
# 10 Courage is created by the passion of a higher cause in your life. When you are really passionate about what you are doing, and what you are working toward, you will be willing to take risks and step out of your comfort zone.
# 11 All people have weaknesses. No one is perfect. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Don’t be too quick to judge others, considering you aren’t perfect either.
# 12 One of the great ways you can build people up is just to listen to them and to hear what they have to say. You have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Use them in that proportion. Be a good listener and you will be welcomed wherever you go.
# 13 You know how I feel about debt. You need to get out of it. Stay out of debt. This is one of the quickest ways to get ahead financially. Avoid credit card debt, college loans and car payments as much as possible. The less debt you have, the less stress you have, and the less money you need to live comfortably.
# 14 Do the most productive thing possible at every moment. This could be some of the best advice in the book. Whenever you are working, make sure it is the most productive thing you could do at that specific moment in time.
# 15 The difference between a great man and a mediocre man is the willingness to take risks and stand by them. Entrepreneurs are naturally risk takers. The greater the risk the greater the reward. Don’t take crazy risks, but don’t be scared to take calculated risks.
# 16 It’s so amazing how many people will give up so much for so-called job security. There is no such thing as job security in today’s age. When you seek security you give up opportunity. You can’t have opportunity and security.
# 17 Millionaires know enough to know they don’t know enough. No one knows everything. Seek qualified advisors and surround yourself with talented people who are good at things you aren’t good at.
# 18 One of the significant characteristics of successful people seems to be that they think positively about life and about themselves. Look at the bright side in things. Be optimistic. Work on maintaining a good attitude.
# 19 If I ever ask you what your dream is, tell me what you want, not what you think I want to hear. If it’s not what you want, you won’t do what it takes to get it. Our dreams are what will motivate us to action. Make sure your dream is your dream, and not what someone else wants you to do. If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to make it happen.
# 20 Sometimes after you’ve failed, the best thing you can do is just forget it and go on. Don’t dwell on your mistakes, failures or shortcomings. Learn what you can from the experience, leave the past behind, and keep pressing forward. Don’t get stuck in the past.
# 21 Long-term commitment is what it takes to produce results. There is no shortcut or quick path to success. Accomplishing something great takes time, hard work, persistence and patience. You have to be in it for the long haul, especially in the network marketing industry.
# 22 A failure is never a failure when you learn from it. You only fail if you quit or do nothing. Success is NEVER a straight line. Instead, it’s a bunch of zigzags. Make it a point to learn from your mistakes and make every experience, whether good or bad, a learning experience.
# 23 There is nothing more powerful in business than the charm of an attractive personality. People like to do business with people they know, like and trust. People like to be around optimistic, positive people. Strive to get better every day. Work on your people skills. Become a people person.
# 24 One of the bottom-line essentials of true success is you have to make a decision to grow up and not be a part of a “whining” generation. I’ve never met a successful victim. Ultimately, you have to “man up” or “woman up” if you want to accomplish anything significant in life.
# 25 If you are ever going to amount to anything, it’s not going to be because I gave it to you. It’s going to be that you are deciding now to take responsibility for your own life. We are all Captains of our own lives. If we want to be successful it’s up to us to make it happen. No one else cares as much about your own future as you do.
# 26 The two greatest enemies of success are cockiness and greed. Even if you become mega-successful, don’t get stuck on yourself. No one is perfect and no one is “better” than someone else. Never let greed or arrogance control your life.
About the Book
The book was written by Dexter Yager and Ron Ball. It was published in 1990 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. The ISBN is 0-8423-4043-2. The book comes in soft-cover format and has 158 pages. To the best of my knowledge it is an out of print book, but you can pick up a used copy on Amazon just like I did.
Final Thoughts
In summary “The Mark of a Millionaire” by Dexter Yager and Ron Ball is a good book. I give it a 7 of 10 rating and think that it would help anyone who is looking to learn how to think like a successful person. It’s loaded with great tips and wisdom that anyone can apply in their life.
What are your thoughts? Have you read the book? If so, please leave a comment below to tell us what you liked and disliked about the book. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Chuck Holmes
Network Marketing Professional (21+ years)
Top Recruiter & Top Rep
mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
Loving point #2 about you being a product of your choices. It makes you take ownership of your actions rather than falling into the victimization role of everything always happening to you. Where we are now is a reflection of a choice we made at some point in time. We have to be conscious about our decision making so that we are choosing to participate in activities and engage in behaviors that will benefit us and not harm us.
There is no such thing as a successful victim.