Who wants to be a millionaire while you are still young and have the energy and time to enjoy your wealth? Who else wants indulge in globe-trotting, attend coveted events, build their dream home, run a successful charity…?

Trust me these are the easy questions which everyone has the right answer to – a resounding YES!

Now here comes the hard part – asking the right questions. A great one would be how to be a millionaire or rather how do you achieve all that? For the rest of us that are not expecting to inherit a fortune from our kins, you have to become a self made millionaire.

Related: 6 Deadly Mistakes That Cause Young Entrepreneurs To Fail

Mark you this does not include grand theft, selling a good time, drug trafficking, cybercrime or any other illegal thing. For those serious about becoming young and rich or a self made millionaire, here are some hands-on pointers that will set you in the right direction.

1. Avoid The Self Proclaimed Financial Gurus

These deluded financial experts whose major goal is to make money for themselves often mislead a lot of people through their impractical advice. Some focus on saving! saving! and saving! which includes even cutting back on your meals.

Yes, saving is an important ingredient for those who want to be young and rich. In fact, you first need to prove to yourself that you can save enough, and then invest without losing it. However, do not let anyone fool you that saving a few coins every day from your lunch will make you a fortune.

Of course, you need to spend less than you earn for you get yourself out of your financial mess. But you already know that right? So the best answer to ‘how to be a millionaire’ is to focus on increasing your income above everything else.

2. Have The Right Mind Set

At the start of this article, I asked, ‘who wants to be a millionaire’ and I bet everyone subconsciously responded affirmatively. What sets self made millionaires apart from rest of the crowd is how they perceive finances and time. This is according to Brian Tracy the author of ‘The Million Dollar Habits.’

Read This: How To Change Your Mind To Achieve Time and Financial Freedom

We were naturally wired to focus and respond to our immediate world; to instantly respond to the danger of larking tigers and hisses of the snakes to save our lives. Similarly, we are short-sighted when it comes to our finances and investments.

We focus more on the short-term risks and ways to get rich quick at the expense of long-term sustainable financial decisions. What separates self made millionaires from the rest is their ability to maintain strict long-term discipline in saving and investing.

You will have to start thinking like a millionaire before you are one, to become one.

3. Get Multiple Streams of Income

I know to a youngie who can barely maintain a single steady income source, this might seem like a tall order. However, it is not that difficult. The secret is to have multiple connected income streams flowing.

Here’s an example

I am a professional writer. Besides writing content for this magazine, I also earn as a freelance writer from clients that need top notch content. I also charge top dollar to those that need marketing oriented pieces such as sales pitch or white papers. I also earn, from advertisements on my blog posts.

How many related income streams do you count? FOUR! For just being a writer/marketer.

Here’s a simpler example

In an organization I had previously worked, we had an entrepreneurial Tea Girl. The organization only offered us some morning and afternoon teas without an accompaniment.

So she started selling us some homemade snacks during tea time, which sold like ‘hotcakes’ literally. Later on, she started offering lunch at a slightly discounted price than that being offered at the city restaurants. Soon, even our bosses were complimenting her on her culinary skills.

One day, I had a chat with her about how much she was making from her side-hustle.

Her response left me in shock; ‘More than her monthly salary!’

The secret is to find ways to add income from your current job. Avoid sourcing extra income from unrelated careers because you will often end up having two flows that do nothing.

4. The Young and Rich Invest in Themselves

A common thing you will notice about those that are young and rich is that they are good at what they do. In fact, that is an under-sell; they are excellent at what they do.

These are talented artists/athletes, effective young leaders, serial entrepreneurs, talented writers, effective professionals, and great sellers just to name a few.

A Must Read: Become a Top Seller: What Great Salespeople Do

This is because they have invested in themselves, building on their talent, continually sharpening their skill and getting that extra education. There is nothing average about these people. Most of all, they are not mean, they help themselves so that they can help others.

5. Forget Security, Focus On Opportunity

Though this is a bit of a cliché, for you to get rich, you have to make a lot of money. The young and rich are able to position themselves in a job that has opportunities for growth. Focusing only on security makes you rigid.

A lot of young people often settle for a secure job with minimal chances of growth against losing this security in pursuit of a career with greater opportunities for growth. That’s how you get stuck in the rat race.