We all want to live the dream. We want the fancy cars, big house, no financial worries in the world type of life. The reality is that not many of us actually get to live it. Considering that about 11 million households in the United States fall into millionaire category and there are about 126.22 million households in the United States, just over 8% of households in the US ever make it there.

Interesting, when you ask people if they want to be a millionaire, you often get answers like:

“I would love the financial freedom but I don’t know that I would want the work that comes along with it. I just want enough to be comfortable.”

While I’m not a millionaire quite yet, I can personally say that this used to be my mindset. When it changed, so too did my income.

Success Is Difficult

These days, we live for comfort and convenience. After all, isn’t that why we want to be millionaires in the first place? Don’t we want a little bit of financial comfort and convenience? Interestingly enough, this is one of the biggest reasons for failure. In fact, successful personal trainer and author of the book “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” T. Harv Eker said it best (0:58):

“Comfort and convenience are the kiss of death to success.”

Diving Into My Story

One of the first lessons that I learned when I kicked my day job to the curb on January 1, 2012, was that owning a business wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I thought that if I just worked 4 or 5 hours per day, I could make hundreds of thousands per year. Well, after 5 months of dwindling income and savings being about three quarters gone, I learned what it took to be successful.

I had a couple of months left before I would have been forced to re-enter the rat race and get another job. I decided that I wasn’t going to let that happen. So, I finally made my way off of the couch and out of my funk. Every day, I was going to work until I had no way to make my business better or I couldn’t work anymore. Every day, I worked 12 to 16 hours with a day off every six months or so. It was hard. I was tired, and at times, I thought that going back to work might be better for me.

However, after the hard work, I had a few websites that started to become successful. One of them, CNA Finance even earned relationships as a content partner to Google News and Bing News. I had new clients asking me for work nearly every day. I finally made it to the six figure club! Today, I don’t necessarily have to work 12 hours per day, and I surely don’t work 7 days a week anymore. Nonetheless, I’m not where I want to be and I’m not going to stop until I get there. So, I work about 70 hours per week in 5 days per week and spend the weekend with family . It’s hard, yes, but it gets more rewarding by the day!

The Takeaway

It’s true. It is possible for anyone to become a millionaire, but it’s not going to be easy. That’s why just over 8% of households ever make it. Nonetheless, if you’re willing to deal with discomfort for a short while, you’ll likely have the ability to live in financial comfort for the rest of your life!

Author's Bio: 

Jeremiah Owyang is an internet entrepreneur and a leader in peer-2-peer technology.