Quick tip for the day – pay yourself first. Read that and you’re done here, basically.

When I look back at my experience in the Amazon, there wasn’t many times animals would stuff things away for eating later. And the reason for that is because things go bad there, rot, pretty fast. So no opportunity for storing anything. Because of the abundance of food, and the tropic weather, animals don’t have to do that, though a few do.

But almost everywhere else you look in nature, it stores up something to use later. Even plants do this so they can survive when times get rough.

One thing Indians do along the Amazon, which made my parents crazy, was that the men and boys eat first. Women and children last. This was their culture, and for great reason – the men and boys protected the women and children. So here, they “paid themselves first.”

This is another “habit” you have to develop. Not something that will come automatically. And the best way to do it is to automatically have something come out of your paycheck. If you do it right, you won’t miss it and you’ll build a good nest egg.

I read to my kids the classic book, the Richest Man in Babylon, and even had an audio cassette with the book acted out. It was powerful and they still remember it 20 years later. Author George Classon made the point – Pay Yourself First.

And take advantage of the tax deferral here. Because of high and even multiple tax rates, money that you save or invest without being taxed accumulates at a rate of 30% to 40% faster than taxed money.

Self-made millionaires, according to Dr. Thomas Stanley, author of The Millionaire Next Door, are almost obsessive about accumulating their funds in assets like real estate, self owned businesses and equities that increase in value without triggering tax liabilities.

Put away 10%. It’s a start. Graduate to 15%. And then watch how your financial life will benefit and change!

As far back as I can remember studying self improvement, the mind is the most powerful element in the mix. And what we think about money, the thought we put and the place we put it in our lives is really important. Especially now with all the rough stuff happening in the US economy. As it trickles down to you, I want you to make sure you’ve gone into your quiet place and get totally certain what your belief about money is.

Because the way you think about the stuff, that determines how much of it you will accumulate more than anything else. You know better than I that your attitude towards money affects your emotions and your motivation. If mom pounded into your head that money doesn’t fall from trees, i.e. it is super scarce – right now, today, is the time to change that.

If you are really serious about becoming a millionaire then you’ll want to know how fortunes are made, at least in the US. Did you know that the number one way is self-owned businesses? Ha! I love it! Because I know most of you are involved in self-owned businesses! 74 percent of all self-made millionaires in America – and not only in this century but the last century as well – came from self-owned businesses.

And these businesses weren’t handed to them. These guys worked these things from the ground up! Remember Andrew Carnegie, Jacob van Astor, Thomas Edison, Commodore Vanderbilt, J.P. Morgan, and others? They all started from scratch just like you. Here are a few modern ones – Bill Gates, Steve Case, Larry Ellison, Ross Perot, Sam Walton. These people started with nothing.

I know you want to know the next group – and they are the senior executives. A good 10 percent of them joined companies and made their way to the top. You know the routine; they were paid well, given stock options, profit sharing, bonuses.

Did you know that Richard Eisner of Disney received a $126 million bonus one year. No, that’s not his salary. That’s his bonus! Lee Iacoca was paid $26.7 million one year as a bonus.

The third level are the doctors and lawyers and such. These are people who got good at what they do and rose in their professions. The top dogs here earn 10 to 20 times what the rest of the group does.

Fourth level are salespeople. Five percent here are self-made millionaires. Most never went to college or have professional degrees. They just became great at what they did. Their secret was that they invested their money and held on to it.

Finally, there are all the people in the other areas, actors, singers, inventors, show biz types, sports, authors, lottery. But that’s only one percent.

There are so many ways for you to become a millionaire that it’s almost impossible not to if you are really serious about it.

Decide what you really enjoy doing and then throw your heart into doing it extremely well. Next, be honest with yourself on an on-going basis that what you are doing will really lead to financial independence – or do you have to make some changes?

If you do – do them now! Take action – I am cheering for you!